What You Already Know Pt 6: Lost City: Gen Version
by MaureenT
Summary: The team is thrust into a race to find the Lost City before Anubis destroys Earth, but, even if they succeed, will all of SG1 survive or will one of them pay the ultimate price? COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**What You Already Know Part 6: Lost City (Gen Version)**

**Author:** MaureenT  
**Rating:** T  
**Categories:** Action/Adventure, Angst  
**Content Warning:** Mild Profanity, Violence  
**Spoilers:** Children of the Gods, Thor's Hammer, Serpent's Lair, Bloodlines, Cor-ai, Need, The Fifth Race, Legacy, Crystal Skull, New Ground, Crossroads, Chain Reaction, Ascension, 48 Hours, Smoke and Mirrors, Metamorphosis, Full Circle, Fallen, Orpheus, Lifeboat, Enemy Mine, Space Race, Inauguration, Lost City, New Order. Also reveals things from Affinity and Endgame.

**Author's Notes:** This is the 6th story in a 7-part AU series covering many of the events of the latter half of the 7th season and the 8th season. **It is strongly recommended that you read the previous fanfics in this series first.**

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CHAPTER ONE

The voice on the phone was firm, the words spoken with a note if finality.

"Killing Doctor Jackson is not a step we are prepared to take."

Vice President Kinsey's temper began to rise. "Then you're all fools. He's as much a danger to you as he is to me. Who knows when one of his visions will reveal who all of you are and what your plans are?"

"If something happens that shows he poses an imminent threat, then we will take action, but, until then, it is in our best interests to leave him alone. Our goal is to destroy the Goa'uld, and Doctor Jackson is one of the greatest weapons Earth has against them. He's already taken out two of them with his abilities. Even before this happened, he was a valuable tool in the fight against the Goa'uld, but, now, he is the single most important person Earth has in this war. We'd be stupid to kill him and destroy that kind of weapon." The voice became threatening. "And let me make one thing clear, Kinsey. Your previous actions against Doctor Jackson were not condoned by us, and if you do something like that again, you will regret it. Even in your present position, you are expendable, more so than Doctor Jackson is."

That announcement made Kinsey's anger escalate into fury. How dare this man say that Jackson was more important than he was! He was the Vice President of the United States, in a position that might gain them control of the Stargate.

"And do not attempt to have him removed from the Stargate Program either," the man on the phone ordered.

Kinsey's temper continued to boil. "And the rest of SG-1?"

"We would prefer that they all remain where they are since they've been doing a pretty good job of fighting the Goa'uld so far, but if there is no other choice, you can have them removed. Just leave Jackson alone. Have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal," Kinsey ground out.

"See that you remember that."

The click and the silence that followed told the vice president that the man had hung up. Kinsey snapped the cell phone closed violently and began to pace. The idiots! Didn't they realize how dangerous it was to let Jackson keep living? A day did not go by that Kinsey didn't fear that the archeologist would find out everything.

And then there was the issue with Hayes. The president had spent a large portion of the weekend reading the copies of the reports from the SGC and had yet to say anything about getting a replacement for Hammond or removing SG-1 from the program. Kinsey had tried twice to talk to him about it but had been rebuffed both times.

The vice president was certain he had Jackson to blame for this as well. If the archeologist hadn't shown up and talked to Hayes, the president would surely have decided by now to clean house at the SGC.

Considering this latest conversation with his contact in the organization, Kinsey wasn't sure if they'd be prepared to have Hayes removed if he decided in favor of Hammond and SG-1. Yet, as long as Hammond was in charge of Stargate Command, they'd never have control of the gate. Surely, they must realize that getting Hammond out took precedence over everything else. And, despite what the organization thought, SG-1 was going to be nothing but trouble as long as they remained a part of the program.

As for Jackson, Kinsey knew that he didn't dare go against the wishes of the organization. He might be vice president now, but that wouldn't protect him from them if he crossed them. So he'd just have to leave things as they were with Jackson . . . at least for now.

Glancing out the window, Kinsey saw that the sun had set and darkness was descending. His impatience getting the better of him, he rose to his feet and headed to the Oval Office. Every day that Hammond and SG-1 were at the SGC was a day too long. It was time for the president to start doing something about it.

The vice president found Hayes in the private office that was off the Oval Office. The president was busy looking over some papers.

"Good evening, Bob," he greeted, glancing up.

Kinsey decided to get right to the point. "Mister President, I must insist that you tell me what your decision is about the situation at the SGC."

Hayes stared at him with a hard expression. "You insist? You still seem to be forgetting whose office this is, Bob."

Realizing that he needed to make an attitude adjustment, Kinsey changed his tone. "No, but, as vice president, I feel that I should be informed promptly about important decisions like this."

Hayes kept staring at him for a while longer. "Okay. I just made up my mind for sure a little while ago, but if you're so eager to know, I'm leaving things as they are for right now."

"What?! Even after all of the evidence that we presented to you against Hammond and SG-1?!"

"Actually, Bob, your evidence was pretty weak. Oh, there's no doubt that they made some mistakes, but, considering what they have to deal with on a daily basis, I think they've done a pretty damn fine job, better than most people in their situation could have. The few mistakes they did make certainly don't outweigh all of the ones they _didn't_ make and all the things this planet owes them. If I was to replace General Hammond, it wouldn't be for the few errors in judgment that he made, it would be because the political situation warrants having someone in that position who is not a member of the military."

Kinsey grasped at the straw that had just been handed to him. "Yes! You are right about the political advantages of having a civilian as the commander of the SGC, both domestically and internationally."

"Calm down, Bob. I said _if_ I was to replace Hammond, and that's not something I'm willing to do at this time. I feel that right now is not a good time to be cleaning house over there. In a few months--"

"A few months?!" Kinsey exclaimed. "Hammond or SG-1 could make a mistake that will blow everything up in our faces at any moment!"

Hayes shook his head. "Unlike you, Bob, I have some faith in their abilities. They've managed to keep things going for the past seven years. I can't see them screwing up that badly within the next few months."

"Mister President, I must ask that you reconsider."

"Ask all you like, Bob. My decision is final. Oh, and since I know that this is going to come up again sooner or later, no matter what I decide about General Hammond in the future, SG-1 is staying put. They are too valuable to lose, especially Doctor Jackson and his abilities."

Kinsey's eyes narrowed into a glare. "This is all because of Jackson, isn't it. What did he tell you when he was alone with you?"

"Let's just say that he gave me a little glimpse into the future and made me realize that the last thing I should do right now is hinder our ability to fight against the Goa'uld. SG-1 and Hammond are all needed right where they are."

Kinsey's head shook. "Jackson would say anything to keep his job and to protect his teammates and Hammond. I don't know what kind of bull he handed you, but you can't let it affect your judgment."

"Oh, I've been handed a lot of bull, Bob, and been lied to quite a bit, but not by him."

The hardness in Hayes' voice made Kinsey begin to wonder exactly what the president knew. "If he said anything against me--"

"He didn't say one word against you, or anyone else, for that matter, not during our private conversation. He'd already done a pretty good job of shooting you and Mister Woolsey down in flames when we were all together. Like I said, Bob, my decision is final. Until such time that _I_ decide to change things, everything at the SGC is staying the way it is. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to make another call to the ex-president of Togo."

Knowing that it would do no good to continue the argument, Kinsey left, thinking that another call to his contact in the organization was in order. As soon as he was back in his office, he placed the call.

"It's me again," he said to the man who answered. "We've got a problem. The president has decided not to remove General Hammond from the SGC."

There was a brief silence on the other end. "That's unfortunate."

"I assume we'll be carrying out the contingency plan?" Kinsey couldn't help but smile slightly as he thought about the fact that he was going to be president after all.

"No. There is another option available to us. We've already done the preliminary planning, so it won't take more than a day or two to implement."

"What are you talking about? You never told me about another option."

"Because it does not concern you. Do not try to contact me again. I will be unavailable for the next two or three days."

The man hung up before Kinsey got the chance to ask any more questions. Angered at being kept out of the loop, the vice president put the cell phone back in the drawer. Whatever this other plan was, the vice president figured that, sooner or later, the organization would agree to go ahead with the plan to get Hayes out of the way. Then Kinsey would take over and see to it that Hammond and SG-1 would never cause him problems again. And when that day came, he would make sure that Daniel Jackson was taken care of permanently, regardless of what the others wanted.

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Jack brushed the snow off his coat as he approached the first checkpoint in the mountain. It was a cold and miserable day, quite a change from the tropical paradise that SG-1 had been in yesterday. The mission had originally been assigned to SG-11, but a member of the team had come down with a bad case of the flu, and Janet grounded the rest of the team to make sure that none of the other had caught it as well. Jack had volunteered his team for the mission since he was in the mood to get out of the mountain, and he knew from the MALP telemetry that the area around the gate seemed quite pleasant. Now, he was wishing that the mission had lasted more than just a day. Another day or two on that warm stretch of beach would have been very welcome.

Quickly passing through all the checkpoints, Jack headed down into the lower levels of the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. As he got off the elevator, he saw Daniel down the hall a few yards, walking in the opposite direction. Before he could call out, the archeologist waved a hand over his shoulder.

"Hey, Jack," he called and kept right on walking.

The colonel paused, shaking his head. He wasn't sure that he'd ever get used to Daniel's ability to sense and recognize the presence of others. It was just too weird.

"Hey, Daniel! Wait up!" Jack trotted down the hall to his friend, who had paused to wait for him.

"You just get here?" Jack asked him.

"A little while ago. The snow slowed me down a bit."

"Yeah, tell me about it. We've almost got a blizzard going on out there. You know, I was thinking that, what with all the stuff that's been going on, a bit of leave might be nice. That planet we were on yesterday was sweet."

Daniel looked at him. "Jack, considering how much it costs to dial up the Stargate, I seriously doubt that General Hammond would consider letting us take our leave off-planet again, that is if we were to take leave. I've got a lot of work piled up."

"You've always got work piled up, Daniel. So, we don't take the leave off-world. I bet we could find some warm, sunny, tropical paradise right here on Earth."

Daniel smiled slightly in amusement. "In the mood to get a tan, Jack?"

"Now that you mention it, I am looking a bit pale."

Daniel shook his head. "Jack, considering what's hanging over our heads, I really don't think that now is a good time for us to go anywhere. We have to focus our attention on finding the Lost City."

"Daniel, I know that finding the Lost City is important, but we can't put our lives on hold until we do."

The archeologist said nothing, his eyes on the floor.

Jack's gaze sharpened. "Is there something I should know about?"

Daniel lifted his head. "I had another dream."

"About?"

"I saw a fleet of Goa'uld ships, dozens of them. They were being led by Anubis."

"And where were they going?"

"I don't know. But you know that feeling I told you about, the feeling that something big is going to happen? It's getting stronger. I was considering asking General Hammond to contact the Tok'ra and find out if they'd heard about anything going on."

Jack knew that it would be downright stupid to ignore this feeling of Daniel's. If the archeologist sensed that there was a big badness looming on the horizon, they needed to pay attention to it. These months that had passed since all this started had proven that his sixth sense was _never_ wrong, and his visions always came true unless they took action to change the events shown.

"Okay, how about if we go see the general now? Just let me get changed."

Daniel waited in the locker room while Jack changed out of his civvies, then they went to Hammond's office. Daniel told the general about his most recent dream, about the dream he'd had of Earth's forces fighting Goa'uld ships, and about the feeling he had that something big was going to happen soon.

"I think that we should try contacting the Tok'ra," he said in conclusion. "It's possible that they might have heard something."

Hammond nodded. "We can try, but, as you know, ever since the Tok'ra ended the alliance with Earth, they've been a lot harder to contact and can sometimes take weeks to respond."

"I know, sir, but I think it's worth a try."

Just then, the phone on the general's desk rang. He excused himself and picked it up. After listening to the person on the other end for a moment, he frowned severely.

"How did this happen?" he asked. He was silent as the person replied. "And they just walked off with it? For a top security facility, your security leaves much to be desired." There was another long pause, then, "What?!"

The exclamation made Jack and Daniel glance at each other in concern.

"You should thank your lucky stars that they didn't succeed, Colonel, because heads would have rolled if they had gotten away with it," Hammond told the unfortunate person on the phone. "I want a copy of your report on my desk by end of day. And you had better hope that General Gonzales is in a good mood when you get hold of him." Hammond hung up the phone.

"Sir?" Jack inquired.

"There was an incident at Area 51. Someone attempted to steal Osiris' Al'Kesh."

"What?!" both Jack and Daniel exclaimed.

"It was by sheer luck that they failed. Unfortunately, they _did_ succeed in stealing the sarcophagus that had been on the ship."

"Uh oh. That's not good," Daniel stated.

"You see? I _told_ you that we should have kept them here rather than giving them to those guys at Area 51," Jack said. "They've got a bunch of idiots working over there."

Hammond gave a little sigh. "Right now, Colonel, I could almost agree with you. Unfortunately, we have no place here to keep a ship the size of an Al'Kesh. Also, as you know, the scientists were studying the Asgard beaming technology in an attempt to reverse engineer it."

"And the sarcophagus," Daniel murmured. Ever since he found out that the scientists at Area 51 were studying the technology of the sarcophagus in an attempt to figure out how it worked and make more of them, he had wished that he'd destroyed the thing when he had the opportunity. Having experienced personally what the sarcophagus could do to a person if used too often, he believed that it was one piece of technology that Earth was better off without, even if it could save lives. And, now, someone had stolen it. Daniel didn't want to think about what the people who took it might do with it.

"Any leads on who the people are that did this?" Jack asked.

"No. All of the men escaped, and nobody recognized any of them."

"It's them," Daniel said in a low voice.

Jack and Hammond looked at him.

"Them who?" Jack asked.

"The ones behind the Human/Goa'uld hybrid experiments conducted in Los Angeles."

"Are you certain of that, Doctor Jackson?" Hammond asked.

"No, but it makes sense. These people were a part of the rogue NID group, who spent years stealing advanced technology off-world. Their primary purpose was to protect Earth against the Goa'uld, but there were also people involved whose motive was to make money from the technology that could be developed from the things stolen. There's no reason to believe that those two goals have changed. Think about how much money could be made from technology developed from the sarcophagus. And the Al'Kesh would be of immense use to them in fighting the Goa'uld. With it they could attack the Goa'uld directly. And if they took it to a planet with a Stargate. . . ."

"Then they could go just about anywhere in the galaxy," Jack finished, not liking the picture that was forming in his mind.

Hammond gave a nod. "I agree, Doctor Jackson. I'd say that your guess is right. Unfortunately, we still have no leads on who these people are, though the NID has been investigating the case since that incident in L.A."

Jack made a rude noise. "There are as many idiots in the NID as there are at Area 51. It's no wonder they haven't found these people yet."

"I need to call the president and tell him what happened," Hammond said. "I will let him know about our suspicions."

Daniel and Jack left Hammond's office, wondering what this unknown group would try next.

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Kinsey turned on the cell phone and saw that his contact had left him a text message with two words: "Call me." The vice president did so immediately.

"As you may already know, our plan did not succeed," the man said.

"Oh, I know, all right. Your bumbled attempt to steal the Al'Kesh has really turned up the heat. The president is determined to find out who was behind it. Why did you go after the Al'Kesh instead of moving forward with our other plan? With me in charge, you would have had access to both the Stargate and the Al'Kesh."

"We wanted to avoid the investigation of a presidential assassination, if at all possible. Such an investigation could be very dangerous for us. With the Al'Kesh at our disposal, we could have carried out our plans and left things as they are here on Earth for the present time."

"And now? Security at Area 51 has been doubled, and there are guards watching the ship at all times. You'll never get it now."

"We are unprepared to remove President Hayes at this time. However, it will likely become necessary eventually."

"Eventually? As long as Hayes is in office, you're stuck here on Earth, which really limits your ability to go after the Goa'uld."

"We are aware of that, Kinsey. You need to learn patience. When the time is right, we will take action. Until then, you are to wait. Do _not_ take any action on your own. I will contact you when I have information for you."

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Sam put her food tray on the commissary table and sat down beside Daniel. "So, I heard about what happened at Area 51. Thank goodness they didn't get the Al'Kesh."

"Yeah. It's bad enough that they got the sarcophagus."

"So, you think it was the same people who were behind that stuff in L.A.?"

Daniel nodded. "If they've still got contacts in the military and the NID, they'd have the ability to get past the security at Area 51."

"From what I understand, they used forged documents that said the sarcophagus was being transferred to the SGC."

"Forged documents. That sounds alarmingly familiar."

Sam realized what Daniel was talking about. The hit man who had been hired to kill him had gotten onto the base with fake documents and a phony military I.D.

"You think that Kinsey had something to do with the theft?" she asked.

"I don't know. We've already guessed that he's involved with this group. He may or may not have been directly involved with what happened at Area 51, although I think that Kinsey is mostly just interested in getting control of the Stargate. I can't think of any way that stealing the Al'Kesh and the sarcophagus would benefit him."

"Well, whatever was planned for the Al'Kesh, they're not going to get it now. It's under tight security."

"That's good." Daniel took a bite of his food, then looked at Sam. "So, what have you been up to today?"

"Oh, an excruciatingly boring project that, nevertheless, has to get done. I've been at it since Saturday, and I will be so glad when it's finished, which should be by tomorrow morning, if all goes well. So, what about you? You've been spending a lot of late nights here recently."

"Translations, translations and more translations. It seems like, lately, the SG teams have been delighting in bringing back all kinds of tablets, scrolls, manuscripts, etcetera, and I just keep getting further behind because of all the stuff that's been going on." His expression became thoughtful. "You know, I really miss the days when we'd go on missions, tangle with Goa'uld, fight Jaffa, destroy Goa'uld ships, blow up suns and planets, then come home to some peace and quiet. It isn't that way anymore."

Sam smiled. "No, it isn't. There's been as much stuff going on here lately as there has been out there."

"Jack thinks that we should all go vacationing on a tropical beach somewhere."

Sam's smile grew. "Ah. That planet was nice, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was."

"Actually, a little leave does sound great, but now is really not a good time to take it."

"That's what I told Jack. I also told him that I had another dream." Daniel recounted the vision and his feeling of impending trouble to Sam, who frowned in concern.

"That doesn't sound good," she said. Her gaze intensified. "Daniel, do you think that those ships you saw were heading here?"

"I honestly don't know, Sam. After Jack and I talked to the general, I tried to see something more, but didn't have any luck. If it makes you feel any better, I don't think that there is an armada of Goa'uld ships on their way to destroy Earth right at the present moment."

The two scientists fell silent.

"Jack said that we can't put our lives on hold until we find the Lost City, and I guess he does have a point," Daniel remarked after a moment. "All we can really do is just keep living day to day and wait to see what happens."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

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A lone Goa'uld reconnaissance drone floated up to the Stargate on a deserted world. Its mission was to find planets where there existed signs that the Ancients had once lived there. It had found no such evidence on this world. Perhaps the next planet would be different . . . or maybe the one after that.

* * *

Well, there you go, the first chapter of Part 6 of my series. This story is another long one, though not quite as long as Part 5.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Daniel's gaze flitted across the images on the TV screen, scanning the rows and rows of carved text shown in the video. Earlier today, SG-2 had found the ruins of a monument on their mission and discovered that the colonnade was covered in Ancient text. Realizing the possible importance of the find, they had quickly taken videos and photos of the text and returned to the SGC. Everything was then passed on to Daniel. SG-3 had quickly been sent on a follow-up mission to make sure that there were no signs of Goa'uld or other dangers in the area. Since they would be covering a pretty large area, they weren't expected back until tonight.

The writing was in a dialect of Ancient that Daniel had never encountered before, so it was taking him longer to translate it. Because of this, it was going to take a while to finish, but he was determined not to stop until it was done . . . or until someone made him go home, whichever came first.

The linguist was so engrossed in the translation that he didn't feel the presence of the person who was approaching until they were almost at the door.

"Hey, Sam," he said, not turning around.

"Hi," she responded, coming up to his desk. She looked at the TV. "Is that the footage SG-2 took on P3X-439?"

"Yes, and from what little I've translated so far, I think that it might have some valuable information. There are some references to knowledge and learning. But it's going to take a while to translate it all." Daniel smiled. "I'm foreseeing another late night in store for me."

Sam shook her head. "You really shouldn't spend so many late nights here, Daniel." She smiled a little. "People will begin to think that you have no life outside the program."

Daniel let out a snort. "I _don't_ have a life outside the program, Sam. You know that." He gave a sign. "You are right about all the late nights, though, and, normally, I might take your advice, but the possibility that the president might at any moment replace Hammond and shut down the gate for three months makes it especially important that anything to do with the Ancients is investigated as promptly as possible. For all we know, this," he waved his hand at the screen, "might contain what we need to find the Lost City."

Sam knew that, unfortunately, Daniel was right. "Well, just don't skip any meals, all right? You know how cranky Janet gets if she suspects that you're not eating properly."

"No need to remind me about that." Daniel smiled, his eyes dancing with amusement. "So, I heard about this bet you made with Jack. Sounds like a sucker bet to me."

Sam sat in a chair. "Hey, it wasn't my idea. He challenged me, so I challenged back. I have to say that it will be interesting to see how well he does on that crossword." She pointed at him. "And don't you help him, Daniel."

"Okay, I won't, though I don't know how much help I'd be with that crossword puzzle anyway. Most of the questions are to do with physics and astronomy, right? Not exactly my strong suits."

"Oh, please, Daniel. You may not be a physicist or an astronomer, but if I had that bet with you, there's a very good chance that I'd lose. That gigantic vault you call a brain has a hell of a lot stored in it, and not just stuff to do with archeology, anthropology and languages."

A little embarrassed by the compliment, Daniel didn't reply.

Sam got to her feet. "Well, I'd better let you get back to work. Talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay."

Daniel turned his attention back to the images on the screen, once more immersing himself in the language of the Ancients, hoping that he'd find what they needed to learn the location of the Lost City.

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The sound of an alarm awoke Daniel. He lifted his head and looked blearily at his computer, which was the source of the annoying noise. A glance at his watch told him that the three hours of sleep time that he'd allowed himself had passed.

With a groan, Daniel arose from the cot, scrubbing a hand over his face. After silencing the alarm he'd set his computer to give, he went to the coffee pot. Seeing that it was virtually empty, he set about making a fresh pot. As the machine busily did its job of making the vitally needed liquid, Daniel headed to the locker room for an equally needed shower.

Despite Sam's lecture yesterday, he had ended up spending the whole night on base, the only sleep he got being the three-hour nap he'd just taken on the cot he kept in his office for such occasions. The reason for the all-nighter was what happened during SG-3's follow-up mission to P3X-439. While returning from their recon of the area, the team had spotted a Goa'uld reconnaissance drone investigating the monument. SG-3 remained out of sight until the drone had left, then hurried back through the gate.

The presence of the drone meant that Anubis might be heading for the planet at any moment, making it even more vital that Daniel complete the translation and find out if it said something about the Lost City. The fact that Anubis would probably send ships rather than use the Stargate would give them a little time, but there was no telling how much.

The shower helped to clear some of the cobwebs from his mind. The coffee would remove the rest. Hair still damp, Daniel returned to his office and made a beeline for the coffeemaker. Smothering a yawn, he poured himself a cup of the brew, then returned to his desk.

It was about an hour later when Daniel read a passage that banished any lingering sleepiness and had him sitting up straight in his chair. He read it over twice more to make sure he hadn't made a mistake.

Realizing the significance of what he'd just read, the archeologist quickly typed up a brief report on his translation, knowing that General Hammond would need one before he'd approve a mission. Once it was done and printed out, he reached for the phone and dialed Jack's cell phone, figuring that the colonel probably wasn't in yet. After several rings, Jack picked up.

"What?" he answered curtly.

"Jack, I've been translating the Ancient writing on the colonnade SG-2 discovered on P3X-439."

"Daniel, I'll be there in half an hour."

Ignoring the statement, Daniel continued. "It talks about a library of knowledge, Jack. I think the monument contains a repository of the Ancients."

"Repository you say."

"Yeah, you know. That . . . that thing that grabbed your head, made you talk crazy, nearly killed you."

"Well, it sounds like we should stay away, then."

"Well, uh . . . I mean, considering what we know now, we should be able to find another way to access the information," Daniel quickly countered. "Sam's been able to use Tok'ra crystals to-to-to find a way to transfer all kinds of different energies. I mean, it's worth a try, Jack. It might lead us to the Lost City, and you know how important that is. We should go there as soon as possible."

"Yeah?"

Daniel was getting the tiniest bit irritated. It was as if Jack wasn't even listening to half of what he was saying. And he had just heard an odd sound coming from the phone, almost like running and sloshing water. What was Jack doing?

"So?" he said.

"I'll be there in half an hour," the colonel repeated.

Good. That would give him just enough time to talk to Hammond and arrange for a briefing on the mission. "Okay, bye."

"No, no, no, wait. Don't . . . don't hang up. I need a seven-letter word."

Daniel sighed inwardly. "I told Sam I wouldn't help you."

"Well, then this will be the one thing she doesn't know. Up, down, charmed, blank."

"Strange," Daniel answered without hesitation, knowing that the clue was referring to different types of quarks.

"Yeah . . . well, thanks anyway."

Realizing that Jack had misunderstood, Daniel said, "No, the word you're looking for is 'strange'. They're types of. . . . Hello? Jack?" Getting no answer, the archeologist hung up the phone. "Oh, well. I wasn't supposed to be helping him anyway."

Shoving his report into a file folder, Daniel headed to Hammond's office. He explained to the general what he had discovered, stressing that they really needed to go to the planet right away.

"I've already talked to Jack about it, and he said he'd be here within half an hour," he said.

"And he agreed to the mission?" Hammond's questioned.

"That's what it sounded like to me, sir."

Hammond nodded. "Very well, then. I will read over your report and let you know my decision. If I approve the mission, I will assign two other SG teams to go with you. SG-3 has been on the planet before, so they know the lay of the land, and I believe that SG-5 is clear for a mission today. We'll brief as soon as Colonel O'Neill arrives."

"Yes, sir. Thank you."

After leaving the general's office, Daniel went straight to Sam's lab. He told her about what he'd found and let her know about the possible mission.

"And the colonel knows about the drone SG-3 spotted?" she asked.

"Um, no, I forgot to tell him that part. We can fill him in when he gets here. So, do you think there's any chance that you'll be able to download the data with the Tok'ra crystals?"

"I honestly don't know. It's possible, but we are talking about Ancient technology here. I may not be able to get a proper interface. All I can do is try."

"I can't tell you how important this is, Sam. Think of it, having access to all that knowledge."

Sam's expression told him that she _was_ thinking about it. "I know. It would be incredible."

"And not just because it might give us directions to the Lost City."

The astrophysicist nodded.

"Maybe I'd be able to help somehow," Daniel mused, his expression thoughtful.

"How?"

"I was just thinking about what happened with that healing device. If I really can control Ancient technology, we might be able to use that in some way."

Sam shrugged. "I suppose it's possible. It all depends on if there is another way to turn the unit on."

"You mean besides sticking your head in it. I'd really rather avoid that."

"Yeah, me too. The last thing we need is to have that happen again." Just then, Sam thought of something. "Maybe we should contact the Asgard, just in case."

"Good idea."

Hammond agreed that getting hold of the Asgard would be a wise move and said that he'd take care of it. After Sam hung up the phone, Daniel called the guard at the final checkpoint and told him to let Jack know that he was wanted in the briefing room.

At the time that Jack was supposed to get there, Daniel, Sam and Teal'c went down to Level 28. They checked with the control room and learned that, so far, Thor had not responded to their attempts to contact him.

Daniel looked at his watch. "Jack's late."

"Just a few minutes," Sam said. "He might have been delayed. Come on. Let's go wait for him at the elevator."

The three members of SG-1 went to the elevator. The minutes continued to tick by with no sign of Jack.

"Are you sure he said half an hour?" Sam asked Daniel.

"Positive. He said it twice."

More minutes passed as the three teammates began to grow impatient. Well, _two_ of them did. There was some question of whether or not Teal'c was even capable of getting impatient.

"This is ridiculous," Sam stated. "He's almost half an hour late."

"Perhaps O'Neill was delayed," Teal'c suggested.

"Yeah, he probably decided to stop and get donuts or something," Daniel muttered.

Sam frowned. "I think I'd better let General Hammond know that we're still waiting." She went to a phone and called the general's office. Hammond wasn't happy about the colonel's tardiness, but simply told the major to get to the briefing room as soon as Jack arrived.

It was just a couple of minutes later that Jack finally arrived. Daniel tapped meaningfully on the face of his watch. The colonel looked at his teammates in surprise.

"How long have you been waiting there?" he asked.

"You said half an hour an hour ago," Daniel responded in irritation.

"General Hammond's waiting," Sam added.

Jack walked up to them and handed the major a crossword puzzle with a flourish. "Excuse me," he said with a smug smile as he squeezed between her and Daniel and headed toward the briefing room.

"The fate of the world is hanging in the balance, and you've been sitting in your truck, finishing this?" Sam asked in disbelief, walking beside her C.O.

Totally ignoring her disgust, Jack responded, "I believe it was double or nothing."

Sam's irritation went up a notch. She looked back down at the crossword. "Okay. Twenty-three across, the atomic weight of boron. The answer is ten."

"Yes?"

"You wrote the word 'fat'." Sam folded up the crossword and handed it back to Jack.

"Your point?" he asked, snatching the piece of paper from her hand.

_'Oh, brother,'_ Sam said to herself.

As they entered the briefing room, Major Harper was laughing about something. He was standing beside Colonel Reynolds. The two men turned around and looked at SG-1.

"Harper, Reynolds," Jack greeted.

"Sir," the major responded.

"Jack," Reynolds said.

Everyone walked over to the table.

"SG-3 spotted a Goa'uld reconnaissance drone while on the planet where they found the colonnade," Sam told Jack. "Since that obviously means the Goa'uld were aware of its existence, SG's 3 and 5 will be providing backup, if General Hammond approves the mission."

"What mission?" Jack asked, trying to figure out what was going on. When Daniel called him this morning, he hadn't been paying all that much attention to what the archeologist was saying, his mind focused on doing the crossword puzzle and shaving at the same time. In fact, he hadn't even heard everything Daniel said because he'd gotten shaving cream on the phone and had to wash it off. Now, he was beginning to realize that not paying attention had been a mistake. Apparently, they were now going on a mission that he knew next to nothing about.

General Hammond came in. "Good morning, SG-1." He looked at Jack. "Nice of you to join us."

"Good morning, Sir," Jack greeted.

Everyone took their seat.

Hammond turned his attention to Jack. "I've read Doctor Jackson's report on his translation. Given what happened the last time you encountered something like this, I'm surprised you're so willing to take on this mission."

"So am I, sir," Jack responded, still in the dark.

"Jack?" Daniel said.

"Daniel?"

"Why wouldn't we want to gain access to the greatest repository of knowledge in the known universe, once and for all find the Lost City of the Ancients, and use their advanced technology to save the entire galaxy from the evil oppression of the Goa'uld?"

"Well, there's that," Jack replied after a short pause.

"From the mission file I've read, it's one of those things that whips up from the wall, grabs your head and rearranges your brain, right?" Reynolds asked.

"Sort of," Daniel answered.

"Sort of?"

"It basically downloads the entire library of the Ancients' knowledge into a person's mind," Sam explained. "That massive amount of data then slowly unspools into your brain, eventually taking over your consciousness completely."

"Except it wasn't meant for a physiology as primitive as ours," Daniel added.

_'Hey! Who're you calling primitive?'_ Jack objected in his mind. "Easy, fella," he said aloud.

Daniel put up his hand and mouthed, "Sorry."

"I thought the report said you almost died last time, sir," Harper said, which earned him a long look from Jack.

"The Asgard were able to remove the information from O'Neill's mind before he was lost to us," Teal'c stated.

"So why don't we just shoot Thor a call, get him standing by as backup?" Jack suggested.

"We tried, sir," Sam told him. "He's not responding."

"None of our alien allies have been particularly reliable of late," Hammond stated. "Should something happen again. . . ."

Daniel quickly jumped in. "General, no one's saying that anyone should directly interface with the device. We're suggesting that it be extracted and brought home for study."

"The engineering team that studied the last one of these devices you found determined nothing after six months of research."

"We believe that that device's power source was depleted when Colonel O'Neill activated it," Sam explained. "Besides, if Daniel really is able to control Ancient technology as we suspect he can, it's possible that he will be able to turn the repository on without anyone actually interfacing with it."

"Oh, I don't know if I like the sound of that," Jack said. "What if it beams all that stuff out into the brains of whoever is close to it?"

"I really don't think that would be possible, sir," Sam replied. "Judging by what happened to you and what you described seeing, I believe that the device somehow downloads its information via a link with the brain through the optic nerves. That's why it, um, grabbed your head like that and held on."

"Oh, you would have to remind me about that, wouldn't you."

Sam gave him a look of apology. "Sorry, sir."

"Regardless, this is too important to pass up," Daniel insisted.

Hammond nodded slightly and turned to Jack. "Recent intel suggests that Anubis has become a serious threat to dominate the rest of the Goa'uld in a very short time. We have to consider Earth is at risk now more than ever, especially taking into consideration the ominous visions Doctor Jackson has been having. If the knowledge contained within this device can lead us to technologies we can use to defend ourselves, we must pursue it."

Jack looked at Daniel. "Why didn't you just say that?"

"Sorry," the archeologist responded.

"You have a go," the general told everyone. "And be careful, people."


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Half an hour later, SG's 1, 3 and 5 stepped through onto the planet. Jack ordered Reynolds to set up a defense perimeter and hold the gate with his men and SG-5. SG-1 then went to the monument, which was visible a short distance away.

Once they arrived, they spent hours visually searching every foot of the structure that they could reach for some sign of a repository, but found nothing. There appeared to be no interior to the monument, no doors or openings of any kind, and the repository had not come popping out of the wall anywhere. Thinking that it might be in one of the other structures in the area, they had investigated them as well, but still found nothing. Jack had begun to think that Daniel was wrong about there being a repository on the planet, but the archeologist was positive he was not mistaken and decided to see if he could find a clue in the writing on the colonnade. He'd been at it for about fifteen minutes when Jack spoke up.

"You know, we've searched this place up and down."

"I know," Daniel responded.

"We could have Goa'uld on our collective asses any minute now."

Daniel poked his head round one of the columns and looked at him. "I know." He resumed reading, and, at last, found something. "According to the text on this column, it's inside."

"Inside you say." Jack rose to his feet and walked toward Daniel. "Well, let me tell you, my friend. There is no 'inside'. There's just a whole lotta outside." He swept his arm outward, gesturing at the scenery.

Daniel did not lift his eyes from his notes. "I know."

Sam ran a scanner over a part of the wall opposite from the column Daniel was reading. "I'm getting some strange readings coming from here."

A second later, Daniel figured it out. "If I'm right. . . ." He pressed a symbol on the column, then another one.

The familiar shape of a repository abruptly appeared out of the wall right in front of Sam, who jumped back, as did Jack.

"Look out," Jack warned.

Daniel turned to look at the device. "Eureka," he murmured.

Jack got on the radio and contacted Reynolds, telling him that they found something. He and the rest of his team then just stared at the repository, none of them wanting to get any closer to it.

"Now we just have to figure out how to get this thing out of the wall," Sam said.

Not surprisingly, it was Daniel who chose to be the first one to approach the device. As he drew close to it, the repository extended out of the wall further and lit up, causing Daniel to quickly move back.

"Damn," Jack cursed.

Sam grabbed Daniel's arm. "Careful."

"All right, one more time. Why are we doing this? Why?" Jack wanted to know, thinking that they all needed to have their heads examined--and _not_ by that thing on the wall.

All at once, Daniel's gaze jerked upward toward the ceiling. "Uh oh."

"Uh oh? What 'uh oh'?" Jack asked.

"We've got company."

Not even two seconds had passed when Reynold's voice came over the radio. "SG-1, we have incoming."

Moments after that, two death gliders became visible, heading straight toward the monument, the weapons of the lead glider firing. They passed overhead, preparing to make another run.

"All right, let's go," Jack ordered, moving to the edge of the monument in preparation to make a run for the gate.

"Jack, we can't just leave," Daniel told him.

"Daniel," Jack said, not in the mood to hear it.

"We must not allow this device to fall into the hands of Anubis," Teal'c stated.

Not at all happy with the delay, Jack said, "Fine." He strode back to the repository and affixed an explosives pack to the wall beside it.

"Jack!" Daniel yelled in objection.

"Sir, he's right," Sam told the colonel. "If we destroy it, we lose our only chance to find the location of the Lost City."

"O'Neill," Teal'c called, drawing their attention. They all looked to see an Al'Kesh bearing down on them.

"Ah, crap!" Jack cursed. "All right, then, what?" he asked Daniel and Sam, wanting to know what they were all supposed to do.

His gaze focused on the ground, the thought went through Daniel's mind that there was only one alternative. One of them would have to interface with the repository. Knowing that he might be condemning himself to death yet also knowing that he might be the one with the best chance for survival, Daniel chose himself.

Decision made, the archeologist rushed toward the device. Yet, as fast as he moved, Jack moved equally as fast and grabbed hold of him, trying to push him back.

In the instant of contact, a scene flashed through Daniel's mind of his friend interfacing with the device. It was immediately followed by an image of a dying Jack losing consciousness as he succumbed to the damage being wrought by the download.

Realizing what the vision was telling him, Daniel's will hardened. _'No, not this time.'_

Using his telekinetic ability to give him more strength, Daniel pushed Jack aside and covered the rest of the distance to the repository. He ripped off his glasses and thrust his head toward the glowing opening.

Horrified, Daniel's teammates watched as the device grabbed hold of him.

"Daniel!" Jack and Sam cried.

Powerless to stop what was happening, Daniel's teammates stood witness as the archeologist, held captive by the device, was forcefully given all of the knowledge of the Ancients. Only when the Al'Kesh flew by, its bombs coming dangerously close, did their attention waver from their friend.

Long moments later, the device released Daniel. His teammates leapt forward as he fell to the ground.

"Daniel Jackson!" Teal'c exclaimed.

"Dammit, Daniel," Jack cursed under his breath. He looked at his other teammates. "We have to get him out of here and back to the base."

Jack and Teal'c got the barely conscious archeologist to his feet and half-dragged him away from the monument, heading back toward the gate.

"Carter, blow that damn thing to hell," the colonel said through his teeth.

"Yes, sir," she responded, all too happy to comply. She pulled out a remote and, the moment they were far enough away, hit the button. The sound of an explosion heralded the destruction of the repository.

"SG-1? Where the hell are you guys?" Reynolds demanded to know. "We can't hold out for long."

"We're heading back to the gate now, Colonel," Sam told him.

Moving as quickly as they could, SG-1 headed toward the gate, Jack and Teal'c still supporting a semi-conscious Daniel.

As they approached the Stargate, Reynolds and one of the other men hurried forward.

"What happened?" the colonel asked.

"No time to explain," Jack answered. There would be time for that later.

Just then, Daniel regained full consciousness. "What . . . what happened?" he asked, confused.

Jack was about to tear into him when a shout of warning from Sam made everyone turn. One of the gliders was heading straight toward them.

"Go, go, go!" Jack yelled.

Everyone dashed to the gate. SG-1 hurried through first, SG's 3 and 5 following on their heels.

Hammond was waiting at the bottom of the ramp. "What happened?" he asked.

"Ummm. . . ." Daniel began, not quite knowing how to break the news.

"Didn't quite go according to plan, sir," Jack stated, clearly not at all happy.

"We need to get Daniel to the infirmary," Sam told the general.

"I'm afraid I did it this time, sir," Daniel said.

It took a moment for Hammond to realize what the archeologist's statement meant. When it did, a feeling of dread filled him. He watched as the three SG teams left the gate room, only just then noticing that one of the men was limping and being helped by another.

Knowing that there was nothing more he could do at the moment, the general headed to his office, wondering what they were all going to do now.

--------------------------------------------------

On the way to the infirmary, Daniel's teammates didn't say a word, but they didn't have to. He knew that they weren't happy about what he'd done. That was especially true for Jack, who was fairly radiating anger. Knowing that now was not the time to explain his actions, Daniel kept silent.

Unfortunately, the silence ended once they got to the infirmary and Janet was told what happened.

Ordering the archeologist to go to one of the exam tables, she told the rest of SG-1 and the other uninjured SG team members to go get their post-mission physicals. The man who had been hurt was taken over to another exam table.

Daniel sat in silence, waiting for Janet to come over and give him a piece of her mind. He didn't have long to wait.

"Would you mind telling me what you thought you were doing?" she asked.

The archeologist sighed. "I had no choice, Janet. There was no time to remove the repository, and if we destroyed it without getting the knowledge, I knew that our only hope of finding the Lost City would likely be gone."

Janet shook her head. "You still shouldn't have done it, Daniel. Frankly, I'm surprised that Colonel O'Neill didn't stop you."

"Oh, he tried, but. . . ."

"But?"

"But I forced the issue," Daniel finished in a low voice.

Janet stared at him closely. "What aren't you saying, Daniel?"

The archeologist shook his head. "Let's just say that I realized it was going to be a choice of him or me, and I chose me."

"You mean that, if you hadn't done it, the colonel would have?"

Daniel sighed again. "Yeah."

Janet fell silent. She then got busy with the exam, not the least bit surprised that Daniel had made the decision he did.

--------------------------------------------------

"How the hell did this happen?" Hammond asked Jack, Sam and Teal'c as he came into the briefing room.

"It wasn't an accident, sir," Sam told him.

"He did it deliberately," Jack growled.

"In order to access the knowledge of the Ancients," Teal'c stated.

Sam decided that, in defense of Daniel's actions, she needed to explain the situation. "We were afraid that we'd never get another shot at finding the Lost City, and I guess Daniel thought it was the only option. We know from experience that the Ancient knowledge will essentially overwrite his brain. He was probably hoping . . . we're _all_ hoping that, during the transformation process, he'll become aware of the information we're looking for."

"And then it will overwhelm his nervous system, and Doctor Jackson will--"

The entrance of Daniel into the room halted Hammond's voice.

"Die," the archeologist finished calmly. After a slight pause, he added, "Maybe."

"You should be in the infirmary, Daniel," Sam said, not even attempting to hide how upset she was.

Daniel gazed at her. "Why, Sam? We've all got a pretty good idea what's going to happen over the next few days. What would be the point in spending that time in the infirmary?"

Sam's eyes fell from his. She didn't want him to see her anguish.

"Yeah, and we'd all like to know what the _hell_ you were thinking when you stuck your head in that thing!" Jack shouted. He was upset and scared, and, as usual, he was expressing it with anger.

"I didn't think there was another choice, Jack," Daniel told him. "Finding the Lost City is too important to throw away a chance like that. Besides. . . ."

"Besides what, Doctor Jackson?" Hammond asked gently.

"Okay, we know that, according to Thor, I am genetically closer to being like the Ancients than any other human being. We also know that my brain has been physically mutated in such a way that it makes it possible for me to do all these things I can do. On top of that, I am apparently able to control Ancient technology. Taking all that into consideration, it might be possible that I'm more equipped to handle the download."

A look of realization and hope dawned across Sam's face. "You may be right, Daniel. I didn't even think of that. Your present physiology might enable you to handle that massive amount of data."

"So, what does this mean, that Daniel won't start spouting off words in Ancient and doing crazy things?" Jack asked, afraid to get his hopes up.

"I don't know, sir. It's still going to be difficult for his brain to assimilate and make sense of that much information coming that quickly. He may still have trouble keeping it under control."

"Uh huh." Jack turned back to Daniel. "Which leads us to another very important question. Who the hell is going to translate if you go Ancient?"

"Well, unlike you, Jack, I will actually understand most of what I'm saying when I say it," the linguist replied. "So, in the beginning, I can translate for myself. If I get to the point where I can no longer speak or even write English, I have been teaching Ancient to some of the people on my staff. None of them are very proficient yet, but then _I_ don't even know what some spoken words in Ancient mean, and I'm the number one expert on the planet. My knowledge of the spoken language has been pieced together from what I know of Medieval Latin, what I learned from you when you had the Ancients' knowledge, and from sketchy memories of the language from when I was ascended. There are still a lot of holes."

Daniel turned to the general. "Sir, if you don't mind, I'd like to take the weekend off. There are some things I want to take care of."

"Of course, Son," Hammond responded in a gentle voice. "You take all the time you need."

"Thank you, sir. I'll be back Monday morning. Now, if you will excuse me, there are a couple of projects I want to finish before I go home."

Hammond nodded. "Dismissed."

Daniel went to his office, knowing it was only a matter of time before one or more of his teammates would show up. His money was on Jack being the first.

It was too bad that he hadn't actually made a bet with someone since, if he had, he'd have won. Not ten minutes later, Jack came walking in. The colonel made a big production of shutting the door.

"Uh oh," Daniel said, knowing what that meant.

Jack glared at him. "Uh oh is right." Then he exploded. "Dammit, Daniel! Of all the stupid, harebrained, impulsive, foolhardy things you've done, I think this just about tops them all! I don't care if you thought that this was our only chance to find the Lost City. I don't care if you thought that there was some chance you might actually be able to survive this. You had no business doing what you did!"

"And you would have?"

Daniel's question caught Jack by surprise. "What?"

"I saw what would have happened if I hadn't interfaced with the repository, Jack. I saw _you_ do it."

That doused Jack's anger. "I stuck my head in that thing?"

Daniel nodded.

Jack stared at him. "That's why you pushed me out of the way and did it even after I tried to stop you. You saw that, if you didn't do it, I would have."

Daniel said nothing, merely looking into his friend's eyes.

"You should have let me be the one," Jack said.

"And let you die instead of me? I told you before, Jack. I would never want that. I would never allow it to happen if I could stop it. We both know that, if it had been you, unless we could get hold of the Asgard, you would have died. With me, maybe I'll have a better chance."

Jack met his gaze. "And what if it doesn't work out?"

"If this enables us to find the Lost City and gets us the weapons we need to protect Earth and defeat the Goa'uld once and for all, it will be worth it."

"Maybe to Earth, Daniel, but not to us," Jack told him quietly. "Not to _me_."

Daniel's gaze dropped from his. "Jack. . . ."

"I know, Daniel. You did what you have always done, chosen yourself to be the one to pay the price, to make the sacrifice. But I'm not willing to accept that sacrifice. I don't care what I have to do, but, one way or another, I'm going to fix this, even if I have to hijack the damn Prometheus and go planet to planet looking for the Asgard."

Daniel smiled a little at that. "You'd need someone to help you fly it."

"True. Got anyone in mind?"

"I wouldn't mind a little vacation touring the galaxy. It wouldn't be the same as a tropical beach, but it might be nice."

"You got it. Carter and Teal'c can come along, too. We'll make it a team get-together."

"Sounds good."

The two men grew quiet.

"I've, uh . . . I've got some things I need to get done," Daniel said after a moment.

"Okay." There was a pause. "You, um . . . need any help with anything?"

Surprised at the question, Daniel looked at Jack. "No, but thank you for asking. I just have some work to finish, a couple of translations."

"Oh. Okay. Well, I'll . . . I guess I'll see you later, then."

"Yeah."

After Jack left, Daniel attempted to get busy on the translations. It wasn't long before Sam came to see him.

"Daniel, I. . . ." Her voice trailed off helplessly. She just didn't know what to say.

Daniel gave her a tender smile. "I know, Sam." His smile got a little bigger. "Don't give up on me yet. I've managed to pull quite a few lives out of my hat so far. This could be Number Six. Or is it seven? I'm beginning to lose count."

Sam choked on a little laugh, wiping away a tear that was threatening to fall. "You're right. Judging by your track record, we haven't a thing to worry about."

"Exactly."

They both fell silent.

"It should have been me," Sam finally said.

"No! God, don't say that, Sam," Daniel exclaimed, upset that she would even think that.

"But it's true. Between the two of us, you are needed here so much more than I am."

Daniel was getting angry now. "Even if that were true, which it isn't, I don't give a damn. I don't care who would be considered more valuable to the Stargate Program or to Earth. Your life, Jack's, Teal'c, the lives of any of my friends have always been and will always be more important to me than my own, and that's all that matters to me." He looked at her intently. "Sam, if I hadn't done it, it would have been Jack who did."

Sam blinked in surprise. "What?"

"I saw it. Jack would have interfaced with the repository."

"Then you did it to save him?"

"Partly, but I'd already decided that I needed to be the one to do it."

"Because of this whole thing with the genetic advancement?"

"Yes. Well . . . sort of."

Sam stared at him intently. "You'd have done it regardless, wouldn't you, even if you were just like the rest of us."

"Like I said, Sam. We had no other choice. We couldn't afford to lose that knowledge. You know that as well as I do. You even said so on the planet."

Yes, she had said so, but she was now wishing she hadn't. She was wishing that she'd told Jack to go ahead and blow the damn thing up. Now, with Daniel's possible death looming before them, she realized that she shouldn't have given up on the hope that they'd find the Lost City some other way. That repository _hadn't_ been their only hope. Given a little more time, Daniel might have figured out where it was or one of the SG teams might have stumbled across it or some reference to it.

"Yes, but I was wrong," she said. "We might have found the Lost City some other way. If things had happened differently, we might not have even known about that repository. It was mere chance that that planet was picked for a mission when it was. If it had been a couple of days later. . . ."

"If it had been a couple of days later, Anubis would have gotten the information, and we'd all be in very big trouble," Daniel pointed out.

Sam said nothing, knowing that he was right.

"I don't regret what I did, Sam," Daniel told her. "No matter what happens, if we find the Lost City, I will know that I made the right decision."

Sam stared at the floor, trying not to think about what finding the Lost City might cost them. She heard Daniel get to his feet. A moment later, she found herself in his arms. She immediately wrapped her own arms around his waist and held on tight. She drew in a deep breath of his scent, taking in the essence of him, feeling the warm, solid, living presence of him. In a few days, they might lose him forever. Oh, God.

Sam drew away, suddenly needing to escape.

"I-I-I, um . . . I'll see you later, okay?" she stammered, fighting with all her might to hold back the tears.

Daniel nodded. He watched her leave, upset at the anguish he'd seen on her face. He knew how this was upsetting his friends and wished that there had been something else he could have done. But, in the ultimate scheme of things, his life was of far less importance than the defeat of Anubis and the other Goa'uld.

Certain that he'd taken the right actions, Daniel returned to his desk and got back to work, knowing that these might be among the last translations he'd ever do.

* * *

**The episode Lost City was incorrect in stating that a couple of days passed before Jack began speaking Ancient the first time the knowledge of the Ancients was downloaded into his brain. The truth is that, in The Fifth Race, Jack began speaking Ancient no more than a few hours later. However, for the purposes of this story, I am ignoring the fact that Lost City was wrong about the timeline and going with what it said.**


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Daniel gave a little sigh and stared at the papers laid out before him on the dining room table. They were the forms for a new will. This was not the first time that he'd changed his will, but this time was proving to be the most difficult. Ever since Daniel descended, he had been intending to change his will, but it was something that never got done. Now that he couldn't put it off any longer, he was finding that there were things he didn't know what to do about, to whom he should give them. He had always intended that all of Sha're's things would be returned to Kasuf if something ever happened to him. But Kasuf was gone, along with all of the other Abydonians. There was no one left to accept into their care the cup Daniel and Sha're had drunk from at their formal wedding, the little hair piece that had been Sha're's favorite, the beautiful stone that Daniel had found and given to Sha're on her birthday. All these things and more had been spared from destruction in the fire because they had been in that plastic box, and, now, there was no one to whom they could be given.

And what of the things that had belonged to his parents? Daniel had always hoped that, someday, Nick would return from P7X-377, but it had now been four years without a word from him. For all Daniel knew, his grandfather was dead. He didn't know who to give those things to now. There were no other relatives except for distant cousins, most of whom he'd never even met.

Sighing, Daniel stood and got some juice. He was heading back to the table when he sensed that someone was coming up to the house, and that someone was Sam.

The archeologist quickly gathered up the papers and thrust them into a drawer. He'd no sooner done than when the doorbell rang.

"Hey," Sam said with a weak smile after Daniel had answered the door.

"Hey." Daniel stood aside to let her in.

"I, um . . . was in the neighborhood," she said as she went into the living room.

Daniel smiled a little at that, knowing that there would have been no reason for Sam to be in this neighborhood unless she was coming to see him.

He headed toward the kitchen. "Do you want something to drink? Some juice or coffee?"

"Juice would be good." Sam sat down on the couch.

Daniel poured her a glass and fetched his from where he'd left it on the dining room table. He gave Sam her drink, then sat down beside her.

"How, um . . . how are you doing?" Sam asked after taking a sip.

"Okay. But we didn't expect anything to happen this soon."

"Yeah. I didn't sleep at all last night," Sam confessed. "I just kept thinking about this. I wish there was something I could do."

Daniel gave her a gentle smile. "I know, Sam."

Sam sighed in frustration. "If there was just some way that we could get hold of Thor or one of the other Asgard."

"They're probably pretty busy with their own problems."

"But I know that they'd come if they knew how important it is, Daniel."

Daniel's eyes went to the door just then, and he smiled a little. "Well, I guess you're not the only one who was 'in the neighborhood.'"

Sam smiled. "Jack and Teal'c?"

"Uh huh." Daniel got up and answered the door before Jack got a chance to knock.

"Hey," the colonel greeted. "We saw Carter's car out front."

"Yep, she's here," Daniel told him, standing aside.

The colonel and the Jaffa entered the house.

"Carter," Jack greeted the major.

"Sir."

"So, let me guess," Daniel said. "You were in the neighborhood."

The colonel looked at him. "How'd you know I was gonna say that?"

Daniel exchanged a look with Sam, who grinned.

"My spooky psychic powers told me," Daniel answered.

Jack stared at him for a moment, trying to decide if he was serious, then pointed to the white box Teal'c was holding. "We brought donuts."

The day passed pleasantly as Daniel's teammates kept him company and kept his mind mostly off his possible impending death. The archeologist knew that they were trying desperately to keep it off their minds as well.

That afternoon, Jack helped himself to some of the beer that Daniel no longer drank because of the alcohol restriction he was under. A while later, they somehow got into a conversation about The Simpsons. Jack seemed to think that there was an analogy between Homer Simpson's boss and the Goa'uld. Daniel just couldn't see it and had told Jack so.

"You are so wrong, Daniel. So wrong. It's the perfect analogy. Burns as Goa'uld."

"They are merely animated characters, O'Neill," Teal'c said.

Jack glared at him. "You're so shallow."

"Hey, now that's not true," Daniel objected. "I happen to think that Teal'c is pretty deep, a lot deeper than some people I know."

Jack's gaze narrowed. "And what's that supposed to mean."

"Nothing."

"You're just saying that because he agrees with you."

"I'm sorry, sir, but I have to agree with Daniel and Teal'c," Sam said. "I don't see the connection either."

Jack looked at all of his teammates. "You are all so blind." He got up. "I'm getting another beer."

He went into the kitchen and pulled a beer out of the refrigerator. As he was coming back out, he noticed the corner of a piece of paper sticking out from one of the drawers. He opened the drawer and reached in to push the sheet in the rest of the way. His hand froze as he caught sight of what the paper was, a sharp, wrenching pain spearing through his chest. The beer he'd consumed earlier instantly soured in his stomach.

Jack closed the drawer, hiding the will from his sight but not from his mind. He closed his eyes, hands clutching the counter, white-knuckled.

"Jack? You get lost in there?" came Daniel's voice from the living room.

"No," Jack replied in a slightly hoarse voice. He cleared his throat. "I changed my mind about the beer. I don't want to drink too much. I'm driving, after all. I've . . . gotta go to the john."

Jack returned the beer to the refrigerator and escaped to the bathroom. He stood bowed over the sink for a long minute, eyes closed once again. Seeing that will, knowing that Daniel had been "getting his affairs into order", had really driven home the fact that there was a very good chance that Daniel was going to die.

_'No, dammit. That's not going to happen. Daniel always makes it out alive in the end, even when he **does** die. It's going to be the same this time. Either the Asgard will come, or this thing won't get the better of him, or . . . or **something**. He's going to be just fine.' _

Desperate to believe that, Jack used the toilet and went back out into the living room. His teammates were talking about a special on the National Geographic Channel.

"Ya see? This is why you guys need me around," Jack said with forced cheerfulness. "Without me, you descend into absolutely boring discussions about TV specials that nobody who has anything better to do would even think about watching."

"Actually, I like the National Geographic Channel, sir," Sam told him.

"As do I," Teal'c stated.

Jack shook his head. "Not only are you people blind, you're also pathetic."

Daniel lifted his eyebrows. "As opposed to someone who thinks that Jim Carry's 'Pet Detective' should have won an Academy Award?"

"Hey! It was funny! If there was an Academy Award for Best Comedy, it would have been a lock."

Daniel, Sam and Teal'c all shared a look.

"What?!" Jack asked, miffed.

"Nothing, sir," Sam said.

Jack changed the topic of conversation, and the afternoon continued. Daniel was glad of the company of his friends, especially when he knew that this might be the final hours he'd spend with them like this.

"Well, I'd say it's time for dinner," Jack said at around 6:30. "So, what's it gonna be? Go out or takeout?"

"I vote takeout," Daniel answered. "I'm not really in the mood to go anywhere."

"I agree," Sam said.

"That would be acceptable," Teal'c stated.

Jack nodded. "Okay, takeout it is."

They all decided on what to get, then Jack left to get the food. When Daniel sensed his return a while later, the archeologist decided to have a little fun with him. He quickly dashed over to the TV and turned it on, tuning it to a familiar channel.

"Daniel, what are you doing?" Sam asked.

"Just play along, Sam."

The major noticed what channel it was and grinned. Daniel sat beside her on the couch. He motioned to Teal'c and patted the cushion on the other side of him.

"Come on, Teal'c."

The Jaffa rose from his chair, an eyebrow cocking.

"Sit down and pretend like you're totally engrossed," Daniel told him.

Teal'c looked at the screen. Though they couldn't be sure, his teammates could have sworn that they saw a smile tilt his lips upward for a moment. As requested, the Jaffa sat on the couch and pretended to become absorbed in the TV program.

A few seconds later, Jack came in carrying several bags. "Hey, we lucked out. The place was hardly busy at all."

"Uh huh," Daniel said distractedly, eyes glued on the TV.

"That's good, sir," Sam commented in the same tone, also not removing her gaze from the screen.

"Just, um . . . put the food on the table." Daniel waved his hand in the direction of the dining room. "We'll eat in a while."

"This is most fascinating, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c remarked.

"Isn't it?" the archeologist agreed. "Very thought-provoking."

"Yeah," said Sam in a very convincing tone of fascination.

Jack came into the living room. "What are you guys watching?" He looked at the TV. "National Geographic?! I don't believe this! I'm not even gone half an hour, and you guys degenerate into this."

Three faces turned and looked up at him at the same time with identically cocked eyebrows. Jack saw the hint of humor in their eyes and realized that he'd been had.

"Oh, very funny. Ha ha," he said sarcastically.

Grins spread across the faces of Daniel and Sam. The archeologist shut off the TV, and everyone went into the dining room to eat. They had decided to try out an Italian restaurant that opened in the area a couple of months ago and were pleased to discover that the food was quite good.

"Mmmm. This Fettuccine Alfredo is wonderful," Sam said. "Here, Daniel. Try some."

Daniel dug his fork into the pasta and took a bite. "Hey, you're right. That is euge."

Everyone else at the table froze, staring at him.

"What? What is it?" Daniel asked, looking at each of them in puzzlement.

"You said 'euge'," Jack told him.

"I did?"

"You did."

Daniel put his fork down and stared at his plate.

"What does euge mean?" Sam asked, a tight, sick feeling in her stomach.

"Good. It means 'good'," Daniel lifted his gaze to her, "in Ancient."

"Damn," Jack cursed. "I thought it was going to take a couple of days."

"That's what we all thought, sir," Sam replied, "but we didn't take into account Daniel's increased ability to assimilate the data from the repository."

"So it's happening faster."

"I guess because of the differences in my brain and my genetic makeup, all the knowledge is being absorbed by my conscious mind at a faster rate," Daniel reasoned.

"Soooo . . . is this a good thing or a bad thing?" Jack asked.

"I honestly don't know, sir," Sam admitted. "This does seem to prove that Daniel's mind is better equipped to consciously process the knowledge, but there is no way to know yet if it's going to make a positive difference in the end. It is such a massive amount of data."

"Oh, come on. This is _Daniel's_ brain we're talking about here. I sometimes swear that he must have been _born_ with a massive amount of stuff already in there. If anyone's brain is big enough to hold all that crap, it's _gotta_ be his."

Daniel looked at Jack. "Thanks . . . I think."

"I think we should go to the SGC," Sam said. "There's no telling how fast this is going to progress."

Since everyone had lost their appetite anyway, no one objected to leaving before finishing dinner. Once they arrived at the base, Jack headed to Hammond's office to tell him what was going on as Daniel, Sam and Teal'c went to the infirmary to tell Janet. The doctor was concerned by the development and insisted on doing a new set of tests, which Daniel thought was pointless.

"Janet, running more tests isn't going to magically give you the fallatus to help me." The archeologist noticed the look on everyone's faces. "I did it again, didn't I."

Sam nodded. "You said fallatus."

"Ability." Daniel got up. "I don't understand this. If my brain is better able to absorb and assimilate this, why is it that I'm not aware I'm speaking Ancient? I should know, shouldn't I?"

"Not necessarily," Janet answered. "This is not really happening on a conscious level. In your conscious mind, you are thinking the words in English, but because the Ancients' knowledge is gradually overwriting everything, it sometimes supplants the English words with the Ancient equivalent when you speak."

Daniel thought about that for a moment. "I remember when I was working on my dissertation for my archeology doctorate, I was really sleep-deprived, and I started muttering to myself. I looked up, and this guy sitting nearby in the campus library was just staring at me. I didn't know why until he asked what language I was speaking. I didn't even realize that I'd been talking in Arabic, which was almost like my native tongue since I spent the majority of the first eight years of my life in Egypt, surrounded by people speaking that language."

Janet nodded. "You could look at this in the same way." She noticed the tiredness on the archeologist's face. "You need to get some rest, Daniel. I'm willing to bet that you didn't get much last night."

"I don't have time to rest, Janet. I need to find the information about the Lost City. I know that it's in my head somewhere."

"And you'll be much more capable of finding that information once you've had some sleep," the doctor insisted. She turned to Sam. "And since I can tell that you didn't sleep much either, I want you to get some rest, too," her eyes landed on Teal'c, "both of you. And you can tell Colonel O'Neill the same thing."

Realizing that it was fruitless to argue, the three members of SG-1 left the infirmary. They went to Daniel's office. Jack showed up a few minutes later.

"We tried to get hold of the Asgard again," he told the others. "Still no luck. But they'll come through. You just wait and see. Thor won't let us down."

"We can't count on Thor for asorda, Jack," Daniel told him. This time, the archeologist knew before he even saw the look on everyone's faces that he'd done it again. "Asorda. That, um, means 'help'."

"You were aware that you spoke Ancient this time, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said.

"Yeah. I guess things are changing." Daniel rubbed his temple in an effort to ease the slight headache he had.

Sam gazed at him in concern. "I think that Janet's right. We should all get a little sleep."

The four friends all retired to their quarters, but none of them got very much sleep that night. Daniel was plagued by strange dreams, the images so jumbled that he could not make sense of them. He awoke at 5 a.m. with the unsettling feeling that his mind was drowning in an ocean of knowledge that he could not hope to contain.

He stumbled his way to the bathroom. In the shower, he closed his eyes and let the hot water cascade over his head and body. He'd been like that for two or three minutes when a sudden, image of violent volcanic eruptions made him gasp, eyes flying open. This was the second time that he'd had a vision in which he witnessed volcanic activity. He knew that it was important somehow, and, now, he was beginning to believe that it had a connection to the Lost City. He just didn't know what that connection was.

Finishing his shower, Daniel got dressed and went to his office. He pulled out one of his books on Medieval Latin and began pouring over it, hoping that some word he read would spark something in his mind.

He'd been reading for only about half an hour when he sensed Teal'c's approach. He turned to face the door as the Jaffa entered.

"Should you not still be resting, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked.

"Yeah, I probably should, but since I spent half the night awake, I figured that there was no point in wasting any more time. What about you?"

"I, too, found it difficult to rest. My thoughts trouble me deeply."

Daniel nodded, his gaze falling away from Teal'c's. "Do you think I made a mistake, too?"

The Jaffa came up to him. "I believe that you made the only decision that you thought you could. O'Neill has told me that you had a vision showing that, if you did not do so yourself, he would have interfaced with the repository."

"Yes, but, even before I had the vision, I'd decided that there was no other choice. Someone had to interface with that thing, and I figured that I was the best one to do it."

There was a brief silence, then Teal'c quietly said, "It is possible that, now that I no longer carry a symbiote, the repository would have worked on me."

Daniel shook his head. "Even if it would have, I wouldn't have wanted you to do it. I wouldn't have wanted _any_ of you to do it. It's a whole lot easier accepting the possibility that I won't survive than it would be if it happened to one of you. No. It's better that it was me."

Teal'c's eyes bored into his. "Hear me, Daniel Jackson. You have always been a great asset to the Tau'ri in all the years that you have been with the Stargate Program. This is true even more so now. You have become a weapon of unmeasurable value against the Goa'uld. For this reason alone, any one of us would gladly take your place, for we know that your loss would be a great blow to our fight against the Goa'uld."

"Teal'c, I can't value my life above any of yours, regardless of how important I might be in the fight against the Goa'uld. Even if I hadn't gained these abilities, I really think that we'd have done okay. We did a pretty good job of fighting the Goa'uld all these years without the aid of psychic powers, and I have to believe that will continue to be true if I don't make it through this. I'm not indispensable."

Teal'c's gaze deepened. "That may be true, Daniel Jackson, but it does not change the fact that your importance to us cannot be measured alone by the skills you possess. You are our friend, and, as your friends, we would not hesitate to trade places with you."

Daniel met his eyes. "I know, Teal'c," he murmured. "But, you see, I feel the same way, which is why I'm glad that it was me."

The two men fell silent. Daniel got to his feet. "Look, Teal'c, I know that . . . whoa." He swayed and grabbed the desk for support. The Jaffa was immediately at his side, a firm grasp on his arm.

"What is wrong, Daniel Jackson?"

The archeologist raised a hand to his head. "That was, uhhh, kind of disconcerting. For a second there, it was like the Ancients' knowledge was right there in my conscious mind, _all_ of it, all at once. I thought my fron was going to explode."

Teal'c did not say anything about Daniel's use of an Ancient word. "This is not the way it happened with O'Neill."

"No, it's not. I think that, because of the differences in my brain, the stuff from the repository is 'unspooling' faster, and, every once in a while, it's like someone hits Fast Forward. The problem is that there is so much information that it's just a big jumbled mess, and I can't separate out anything."

"Perhaps if you were to join me in Kel'no'reem, it would allow you to find the information we need."

"You know, that just might work. It's worth a try."

"What's worth a try?" asked Jack from the doorway. Daniel turned to see both him and Sam there. He hadn't sensed their approach and had to wonder if the Ancients' knowledge was beginning to affect his paranormal abilities.

"Teal'c suggested that I try meditation, see if it would help me find the information we need."

"Great idea," Jack said. "Let's all go do that."

"Jack, not counting when you were in Teal'c's body, you've never meditated in your life, and I doubt you could even if you tried. Meditation requires quieting your mind, body and spirit."

"Hey, I'm the one who's into fishing, Doctor I-couldn't-shut-my-brain-off-even-if-it-had-an-off-switch Jackson. Don't talk to me about a quiet mind and body. I think about nothing all the time."

Daniel smiled slightly. "You're right. You'd probably have no trouble with the not thinking part. However, meditation also requires patience and the ability to sit and do absolutely nothing for hours."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"For hours?"

"Sometimes."

"Oh. Well, I guess I could try."

"I'll try, too," Sam said.

Daniel gave a nod. "All right, let's go."


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

Having done this before, Daniel helped Teal'c set up and light the candles while Jack and Sam watched. Once the final candle had been lit, they all settled on the floor. It was kind of funny watching Jack attempt to cross his legs properly as he complained about his knees not bending that way anymore.

"Okay, now that I'm _completely_ uncomfortable, what's next?" the colonel asked.

"Now you do that not thinking part," Daniel replied.

"Not thinking. Sure, I can do that. Piece of cake." There was a short pause. "So, I just sit here and not think? Isn't that awfully boring?"

"Well, there is a little more involved in it than that."

"So, is it like that Kel'no'reem stuff that Teal'c had to teach me when we switched bodies?"

"In a way, but you won't be communing with a symbiote--"

"Thank God for that."

"You also won't have the advantage of that symbiotic connection and being in the body of a Jaffa."

"Thank God for that, too." Seeing Teal'c's frown, Jack hastily added, "Not that there's anything wrong with your body, Teal'c. It's a _great_ body, _wonderful_ body." Realizing how that sounded, he even more hastily said, "I mean, looking at it from a _purely_ male perspective with absolutely _no_ interest in your body whatsoever. . . ." Jack's voice trailed off. He turned to Daniel. "So! Let's get started, shall we?"

Hiding his smile, Daniel explained to Jack and Sam the process of entering a meditative state, explaining that they might not have a lot of success the first time.

"You were quite successful on your first occasion, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c reminded him.

"When was that exactly?" Jack asked.

"When I was getting the memory flashes of what happened to Bra'tac and Rya'c on Erebus," Daniel replied. "I thought that maybe meditation would help me. As it turned out, it did."

Jack's expression brightened. "Hey. Maybe it will help me remember where I put my VCR remote."

Daniel glanced back and forth between Sam and Jack. "Ready?"

"Yep," the colonel replied, all ready to think of nothing.

Sam nodded.

Everyone closed their eyes. Daniel started going through the process of lowering his brainwave pattern. He'd just achieved a low alpha frequency when. . . .

"So, how long is this supposed to take?"

With a little sigh, Daniel opened his eyes and looked at Jack. "It takes as long as it takes."

"What kind of answer is that?"

"Ask Chaka."

Jack stared at him in bafflement. "What?"

Not bothering to explain that that was the answer Chaka had given to Daniel on P3X-403 when he asked the Unas how long they'd have to wait for the other Unas to show up, the archeologist closed his eyes. "Just keep trying, Jack."

"Right. Sure. Keep trying."

There was silence again. This time, Daniel managed to achieve a high theta frequency before he was interrupted again.

"So, how long should I keep trying?"

With an even louder sigh, Daniel opened his eyes and glared at Jack. Before he could say something, Teal'c spoke.

"O'Neill, for successful meditation, there is one element required above all others."

"What's that?" Jack asked.

"Silence."

Daniel almost laughed, recognizing that the Jaffa had almost said word for word what he'd told Daniel the first time the archeologist tried meditation.

Chastened, Jack finally shut up.

A third time, Daniel stilled his mind. At last, he succeeded in lowering his brainwave pattern to a calming, soothing theta frequency. Not wanting to be disturbed yet again, he filtered everything else out of his awareness, including his three teammates.

A few minutes had passed before Jack got bored and gave up. He looked around at the others. Sam's eyes were closed, but she didn't look relaxed enough, and Jack guessed that she hadn't had any success yet. Teal'c's face was calm and peaceful, his body relaxed and still. As for Daniel, his face didn't just look peaceful, it looked totally blank, like his brain was completely out to lunch.

_'How can he __**do**__ that?'_ Jack asked himself.

A tiny sigh drew Jack's attention back to Sam. He leaned closer to her. "No luck, Carter?" he asked in a lowered voice.

Sam opened her eyes. "Not really, sir. It's the not thinking part that's a problem for me."

"Gee, what a surprise."

"I don't think I'm cut out for meditation."

"Join the club. I'd rather be doing nothing with a fishing pole in my hands."

"Not all individuals can succeed in meditation," said Teal'c, who opened his eyes to look at them.

"Hey, I thought you were Kel'no'reeming," Jack said.

"Indeed I was, O'Neill. However, I am no longer."

The frown he gave Jack told the colonel that it was his fault. "Sorry." Jack turned to Daniel, whose eyes were still closed. "Okay, Daniel, I give up. So does Carter." There was no response at all from the archeologist. "Yoohoo! Daniel." The younger man still didn't stir. "Come on, Daniel. I know you're faking it. Give it up." When there was still no response from the linguist, Jack looked at Teal'c. "He is faking it, right? I mean, he can't still be under."

"If Daniel Jackson so chooses, he can achieve a deep state of meditation in which his mind is isolated from his environment," the Jaffa told him.

"You mean he can't hear us?"

"He cannot."

"Not even if I jumped up and down and screamed at the top of my lungs?"

"No."

"Not even if I dressed in a tutu and did Swan Lake, swelling orchestra and all?"

"Not even then, O'Neill."

Jack looked at Daniel. "How come he did that?"

Teal'c merely stared at Jack and cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh," Jack said, getting the message.

Unaware of the conversation taking place, Daniel delved deeply into his own mind, seeking the information they desperately needed. He could actually sense the vast storehouse of knowledge that lay like a huge python in his brain, waiting for the moment when it would spring upon him and wrap its coils around his mind, slowly crushing it as it constricted tighter and tighter.

Wondering why his mind had come up with that particular analogy, Daniel pushed the thought aside and attempted to find what he was looking for, some clue to where the Lost City was. The minutes continued to pass with no success. Then, all at once, it was like a door was opened a crack. Words leapt into his mind with such suddenness that he blurted them out aloud.

The archeologist's eyes blinked open to see his teammates staring at him.

"What the hell does praclarush taonas mean?" Jack asked.

"I have no idea," Daniel admitted. "It just popped into my head." He got to his feet. "I need to. . . ." His voice faded off with a little gasp.

"Daniel, what's wrong?" Sam asked, quickly getting up off the floor, as did the others.

Daniel staggered, hands pressing against his head. "Oh, God. Too much," he gasped.

Jack and Teal'c grasped Daniel's arms, seeing his face pale. Seconds later, he cried out in Ancient and collapsed. The colonel and Jaffa gently lowered him to the floor as a distraught Sam dashed to the phone and called for a medical team.

Minutes later, an unconscious Daniel was being rushed to the infirmary, his teammates hurrying alongside the gurney. Once they arrived, Janet made them stay outside. Sam began to pace.

"Too fast. It's happening too fast," she said. "Dammit! It should have been me!"

"No, Carter, it should have been _me_," Jack responded quietly. "If it wasn't for Daniel's abilities, it _would_ have been me. I wish to hell that I'd beaten him to it."

The hour that passed as Jack, Sam and Teal'c waited for word of their friend seemed like forever, but, at last, Janet appeared.

"How is he?" Jack asked her.

"He's asleep," she answered. "I don't exactly know what happened, but he woke up for a short while, and the EEG was going all over the place. He was talking in Ancient, so I couldn't understand a word. I finally had to sedate him because he was getting extremely agitated and appeared to be in pain."

Janet looked at the archeologist's teammates. "You said that Daniel was meditating, trying to access the Ancients' knowledge."

Sam nodded in confirmation. "He suddenly came out of it and said something in Ancient. He told us that it had just popped into his head. Then, all at once, something went wrong."

"He said 'Too much' before he collapsed," Jack supplied.

"Too much?"

"I believe that the knowledge contained in Daniel Jackson's mind may have come forth too quickly," Teal'c stated. "I witnessed an incident earlier this morning. He told me that he was briefly inundated by the knowledge of the Ancients."

"And why didn't he tell the rest of us?" Jack asked, more than a little angry.

"He should have reported to the infirmary," Janet said, also not happy.

"Daniel Jackson is most determined to gain access to the information we need," Teal'c explained.

"Yeah, well, he won't be able to get that information if he's dead!" Jack exclaimed.

"What if the meditation triggered another incident, only one that was much worse?" Sam suggested.

Janet nodded. "That sounds likely. The problem is that, unlike when this happened to Colonel O'Neill, the Ancients' knowledge is not taking over Daniel's consciousness incrementally. It appears to be happening in spurts, and it's happening a great deal faster. At this rate, Daniel may completely lose the ability to communicate with us within a matter of hours. For now, I'm going to keep him sedated, but that isn't going to fix anything. We need to get that stuff out of his head."

"Can we see him?" Sam asked.

"Yes, but don't disturb him."

"We won't, Doc," Jack assured her.

The three members of SG-1 went to Daniel's bed. The archeologist was deeply asleep, his face looking pale to his teammates' critical eyes.

"We're here, Daniel," Sam said softly, taking her friend's hand as she sat down beside him.

Jack grabbed another chair and sat on Daniel's other side. Teal'c took up position at the foot of the bed.

They were still in those positions two hours later when a slight sound from Daniel drew their gaze to him. They were all startled when his eyes abruptly popped open, darting about the room.

Jack laid a hand on his shoulder. "Daniel? Take it easy. You're in the infirmary." He called over his shoulder for Janet, and one of the nurses went to fetch her.

Daniel's gaze traveled to him. "Jack?" He then saw Sam and Teal'c. "What . . . what happened?"

"You collapsed, Daniel," Sam answered. "Do you remember meditating with us in Teal'c's room?"

A look of confusion passed over the archeologist's features. "Yeah. I was trying to access the Ancients' knowledge."

"Well, you apparently succeeded a little too well," Jack told him.

Daniel frowned. "Wait. I think I remember. These words came to me, praclarush taonas, and then there was all this stuff flooding into my mind. It was too much."

Just then, Janet came up to the bed. She looked down at Daniel in surprise. "You shouldn't be awake."

"Sorry. I didn't do it on purpose."

"What I mean is that the sedative I gave you should have kept you out for several more hours."

"Sedative? Why did you give me a sedative?"

"Because you needed it. Your brain was in an extreme state of activity, and you were very agitated."

"How long have I been out?"

"Just a couple of hours," Sam replied.

Daniel tried to sit up. "A couple of hours that we couldn't afford to lose."

"Whoa!" Jack pushed him back down on the bed. "You're not going anywhere, Mister."

"Jack, I need to keep searching for something about the Lost City."

"Daniel, you don't understand how serious this is," Janet said. "You may have come very close to being completely taken over by the Ancients' knowledge. To be honest, I'm surprised that you're so lucid now."

"And he hasn't spoken even one word of Ancient," Jack added.

"Maybe all I needed was a little sleep," Daniel suggested.

"Actually, you may have something there," Sam said. Everyone stared at her. "We know that the subconscious can block memories from the conscious mind if those memories are harmful. What if Daniel's subconscious somehow managed to repress some of the Ancient knowledge? I know it sounds kind of crazy. . . ."

"But this whole thing is crazy," Jack concluded.

"The last thing I want is for that knowledge to be repressed," Daniel said. "I need it."

"Dammit, Daniel. Stop being so pig-headed. According to the doc, you were spouting off Ancient right and left. Now, how are we going to find anything if you can't help us understand you? For all we know, you were giving us step-by-step instructions on how to get to the Lost City, but, because you were out of your head with all that stuff crammed in there, we had no way of knowing what you were saying."

Jack's words shut Daniel up. He knew that his friend was right. They had to take this slowly and gradually. If he completely lost the ability to communicate before he gave someone the information they needed, it would all be for nothing.

"You should get some more rest, Daniel," Janet told him gently.

"I don't think I can. I need to find out what praclarush taonas means. I may be thinking clearly now, but we don't know how long that's going to last."

Though her instincts as a doctor were telling Janet to make Daniel rest and protect him from further harm, she knew that he was right. Too much depended on what now resided in the archeologist's brain. There was also the fact that, if Daniel didn't succeed in finding what they were looking for and he died, his death would be for nothing.

"All right, but I want you to stay here for a while longer. Sam, the Colonel and Teal'c can bring you anything that you need." Daniel started to object, but didn't get the words out. "That is nonnegotiable," Janet added firmly.

Daniel gave a sigh. "All right. I need my Medieval Latin dictionary and some paper and a pencil. Oh, and my laptop. And my notebook, too." There was a pause. "And I could really--"

"Oh for cryin' out loud, Daniel," Jack exclaimed. "You'll be having us bring the entire contents of your office, if you keep going."

The archeologist looked at him. "Not unless someone has turned my office into a kitchen, Jack. I was going to ask if someone could bring me something to eat. I haven't had anything yet today, and I'm starving."

"Oh." At that moment, Jack's stomach growled loudly. "Come to think of it, neither have I."

"Nor I," Teal'c stated.

"Me neither," said Sam.

"Okay, how about if we all have breakfast here?" Jack suggested.

"My infirmary is not a dining room, Colonel," Janet said sternly. "I'll make sure that Daniel gets something to eat. You three can go to the commissary and eat there."

Sam, Jack and Teal'c reluctantly left to get some food, telling Daniel that they'd bring what he needed from his office after they ate.

The first part of the meal was spent mostly in silence. Sam's food was only half-eaten when she put her fork down and just stared at the plate.

"I'm worried," she admitted.

"I, too, am deeply concerned," Teal'c said.

Jack put his muffin down. "Yeah, it's not looking so good, is it."

"This is so different from the way it was with you, sir," Sam said. "At any minute, that knowledge could completely overwhelm Daniel. And, if that happens. . . ." She couldn't finish the thought.

"No. That's not gonna happen," Jack insisted. "It just isn't. Daniel hasn't survived all the other crap in his life only to let this get the better of him."

Sam said nothing, her gaze on the tabletop. Though she wanted to believe that Jack was right, she knew that there was a very real chance that Daniel was going to die.

The major quickly got to her feet. "I, um . . . I'm going to go get that stuff for Daniel." She hurriedly left the commissary, not wanting her teammates to see the tears that were on the verge of falling. She went to Daniel's office and gathered the things he needed, dashing away each tear that fell.

Before leaving there, Sam took a deep, steadying breath, trying to regain control. When she believed that she had succeeded, she headed to the infirmary. Daniel was just finishing his meal when she arrived.

"Hey. Here's all the things you wanted," she said with a forced smile.

"Thanks, Sam." Daniel lifted the food tray off the overbed table. "Put it down there," he said, nodding at where the tray had been.

Sam put down the stuff, then took the tray from Daniel and set it on the empty bed beside his.

"Are you still feeling okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. I don't think that I've said anything more in Ancient, although I suspect that's only temporary." He smiled very faintly. "One thing's for sure. I'm not going to try the meditation again. That didn't turn out to be such a good idea after all. Well, maybe except for those words I came up with. Now, if I can just find out what they mean."

Daniel opened up the book on Medieval Latin and searched through it for several minutes. "According to this, praclarush taonas means 'lost in fire'." He frowned deeply.

"What's wrong?"

"Twice now, I've had this vision of volcanic activity, volcanoes erupting and lava everywhere."

"You think that there's a connection?"

"Yeah. I really hope, though, that what I saw isn't where the Lost City was."

"Me too, though it is possible that what you saw is only on one part of the planet. The city might still be intact. The problem is that, without a gate address, there is no way that we'd be able to find that planet."

"I know." He tapped his head. "It's in here somewhere, Sam. I just have to find it."

"Just be careful, Daniel. We don't want a repeat of what happened before. For a moment I thought . . . I thought that we were losing you."

Daniel became quiet, his eyes gazing down at his hands. "Sam, if I don't make it. . . ."

Sam felt a tearing pain in the vicinity of her heart. "Daniel, please don't say that."

Daniel lifted his eyes to meet hers. "I have to, Sam. We both know that there is a good chance I won't make it through this. I can't hide my head in the sand and pretend otherwise." His voice gentled. "I just want you to know how much your friendship has meant to me."

Sam closed her eyes, feeling wetness slip down her cheeks. The pain in her heart was growing worse. Through a veil of tears she gazed at the friend she might soon lose forever. "It's meant so much to me, too," she whispered. Then she turned and fled.

Having overheard the conversation, Janet came over. "She cares about you very, very much, Daniel. So do the colonel and Teal'c. And Cassie and I do, too. So, don't you give up on us. You keep fighting, you hear me?"

Daniel met her eyes squarely. "I will, Janet. You know me. I never give up. I'm too stubborn."

Janet gave him a little smile. "Yes, you are. We're all counting on it."


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

Janet finally released Daniel later that afternoon. During the hours that the archeologist was in the infirmary, he hadn't spoken a single word in Ancient, which made everyone happy. The problem was that he also hadn't succeeded in digging out anything from the Ancients' knowledge. He appeared to be at a standstill. Daniel knew that it was all still there, but something had happened to push it back out of sight.

His frustration at being unable to access the knowledge led to Daniel toying with the idea of trying the meditation again, but it didn't take long to change his mind. His previous experience had shown that it was too dangerous.

The archeologist made his way to his office, his arms full of the things that Sam had brought to the infirmary. He set everything down on his worktable. He stared at the woefully empty sheets of paper. With the exception of the words Praclarush Taonas, which he was now pretty certain was the name of the planet where the Lost City was, there has been nothing for him to write down. Daniel's sixth sense was warning him that time was running out, but he didn't know what to do to gain access to the Ancients' knowledge. He had begun to wonder if it should have been someone else who took the download. When Jack did that first time, he had succeeded in giving them a new way to calculate the distance between planets, had shown them how to repair a malfunctioning DHD, had built a new power generator, and had found the way to the Asgard homeworld, which resulted in the Asgard becoming their allies. So far, Daniel hadn't done much of anything at all. He certainly hadn't gotten them much closer to finding the Lost City, the whole reason why he took the download in the first place.

"Hey, you okay?"

Daniel looked up in surprise to see Jack standing in the doorway. Once again, his ability to sense the presence of others had failed him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Daniel replied.

Jack came into the room. "Didn't look like it to me just then."

Daniel went over to his desk. "I'm just frustrated."

"Still getting nothin'?"

"Not a thing."

"Give it time, Daniel. It'll come. It did with me."

Daniel met his friend's eyes. "I don't think we have time, Jack. I have this terrible feeling that something is coming, something that we're not going to be able to stop if we don't find the Lost City." He sighed and looked away. "I'm beginning to think that I made a mistake."

"In what way?"

"I thought that, because of the differences in my brain, I might be able to handle the download better and that, because of that, I might be able to access the information easier. Obviously, I was wrong. If it had been you, you'd probably be busy building something right about now and calculating the quickest route to the Lost City with math that even Sam couldn't understand."

"No, I'd probably be sitting on my couch at home, drinking beer. It's only Sunday. I probably wouldn't have started getting weird until tomorrow or the next day. You're way ahead of the game." Jack searched his face. "Daniel, don't start doubting yourself. You will come through for us. I have no doubt of that. Frankly, the fact that you were apparently able to take control and put a halt to all that Ancient stuff taking over is really good news. It means that there is a very good chance that the download won't get the better of you. Who knows? Maybe you'll actually be able to keep it all, and we won't need the Asgard to suck it out."

Daniel shook his head. "I don't see how that could be possible, Jack. There is so much there, millions of years of knowledge. My mind couldn't possibly manage to consciously contain it all."

"Yet the Ancients could, and they were basically human before they went all glowy."

"Humans far more evolved than I am. Besides, we really don't know for sure if each of the unascended Ancients possessed every bit of their knowledge. For all we know, the repositories are only supposed to download _part_ of the knowledge in each person, not all of it."

"Well, even if you could keep a little bit of it, that would be cool. I bet there are the plans for all kinds of neat gadgets and weapons floating around in that skull of yours right now."

"Yeah. Now, if they would just float to the surface, that would be great. I would be delighted if just the lochus of the Lost City floated to the surface."

"Uh oh," Jack said, his expression troubled.

"'Uh oh' what?"

"You just did it again."

"Did wha. . . . Oh. What did I say?"

"Lochus."

"Location."

"It's happening again."

"Yeah, I guess it is."

"Maybe you should take another nap. That helped last time."

Daniel shook his head. "I need to let this happen, Jack. What good is that knowledge going to do if I keep hiding from it?"

Over the next several hours, Daniel continued to speak occasional words in Ancient. He soon got to the point where he was aware every time it happened and knew what he'd said. It was a little strange having to translate for himself. Everyone had noticed that the incidents were happening with ever increasing frequency. By that evening, Daniel had twice spoken almost entire sentences in Ancient.

Though he knew that he should tell someone, Daniel kept quiet about the fact that his headache had returned and was getting progressively worse. He was also once again experiencing moments when a sudden flood of Ancient knowledge hit him with overwhelming force. That he could not hide since, every time it happened, he nearly ended up on the floor.

Sam, Jack and Teal'c were Daniel's almost constant companions. The archeologist was under orders not to be alone for more than a few minutes at a time, and his teammates were making sure he followed that order. Jack wouldn't even let him go into the men's room alone. When Daniel decided that he wanted to take a shower, he almost had to physically throw Jack out when the colonel decided it would be too dangerous to let the archeologist shower alone just in case he had another "attack" and fell. Fortunately, Jack got the hint, and Daniel got his moment of privacy. If Jack had known that Daniel _did_ suffer another attack while in the shower, any hope the archeologist had of even a minute of privacy would have been gone.

Daniel wouldn't have minded the sudden flashes if they'd accomplished anything, but they were so sudden and so severe that he couldn't sort out what he'd seen, and nothing but ghostly images were left behind after each incident.

That all changed when SG-1 was getting ready to go get some dinner. Daniel had just stood up when a violent burst of images sent him crashing to his knees.

"Daniel!" Jack and Sam cried, rushing to his side.

Caught in the midst of the barrage, Daniel didn't hear them. Nor did he feel their grip on his shoulders.

The flood of images ended at last. Daniel lifted a shaky hand to his head.

"Daniel? You okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. I am now."

Daniel's teammates helped him to his chair.

"That looked like a bad one," Jack commented.

"Yeah, it was pretty intense. I saw. . . ." Daniel's eyes widened. "I remember! I saw it!"

"Saw what?"

"The Lost City or at least I _think_ it was the Lost City," Daniel babbled excitedly. "There were these . . . these huge spires, and balconies, and-and little ships flying overhead shaped kind of like cylinders with one end sloped downward."

"Whoa, Daniel. Slow down," Jack said from his kneeling position beside the chair. He laid a hand on the archeologist's shoulder.

Daniel looked at him intently. "It was the Lost City, Jack. I _know_ it."

"Did you see where it was?" Sam asked, getting excited.

The linguist shook his head. "But I'm getting close, Sam. I'm sure of it."

Jack got to his feet. "Okay, I think we should tell Hammond. Carter, Teal'c, stay with Daniel. I'll go talk to the general." He strode out of the office.

Daniel closed his eyes and massaged his temples.

"Do you have a headache?" Sam asked.

"Um . . . yeah, for a while now."

The major frowned. "You should have told us. You should have told Janet."

Daniel gave a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. "I doubt there's much she could do short of giving me a stronger painkiller, which would probably make me sleepy. It's okay. I've had worse headaches, like all the times I was ribboned."

Sam's frown deepened. "That doesn't mean that you should just grin and bear it. I'm going to call Janet and see what she can suggest."

"She's just going to insist that I go to the infirmary and take a bunch of tests, Sam."

Despite Daniel's words, Sam called the doctor, who did, indeed, insist that Daniel come to the infirmary, especially after she found out about his most recent attack. Once he got there, having complained the entire trip up, Janet flashed her trusty little penlight into his eyes, took his pulse and blood pressure, and asked a million pointed questions about how he was feeling. Then came the CT scan, which Daniel had known all along was coming. In the end, she couldn't find anything definitive, though she did say that the archeologist's blood pressure was elevated.

"Okay, can I go now?" Daniel asked, sounding a bit whiny. As Janet opened her mouth to speak, he added, "And if you say that you want to keep me here for observation, I _swear_ I'll do something violent."

The doctor smiled slightly. "No, I see no point in keeping you here, Daniel. You are free to go."

Daniel blinked in surprise. "I am?"

"Uh huh."

"Oh. Uhhh . . . okay. Good." He got off the exam table.

Janet handed him a bottle of pills. "These should help with the headache."

"Janet, I can't afford to get sleepy."

"Don't worry. You should be okay with those. It's not a heavy dose. It's just a bit stronger than the over-the-counter stuff. Just don't take any more than one every six hours."

"Okay."

Daniel joined his teammates, and they went to the commissary for a belated dinner. Partway through the meal, Daniel's eyes became fixated on Jack's SG-1 patch. He abruptly reached up and tore it off, then put it on the table and stared at it.

"Daniel? Whatcha doin'?" Jack asked.

"At."

"What?"

"At."

Jack pointed at the patch. "That?"

"That."

"That is At?"

Daniel nodded in affirmation.

"Okay, so, what exactly does that 'At' mean?"

Instead of answering, Daniel got up from the table and quickly left the commissary. Jack, Sam and Teal'c stared at each other for a moment, then hurriedly followed. The archeologist went to the control room, where he asked the technician to spin the ring on the Stargate.

As the ring turned, Daniel had the technician stop at each of the glyphs as they showed up on the monitor. He jotted something down on a piece of paper each time.

"Daniel, what--" Sam began.

"Just wait, Sam," the linguist interrupted distractedly.

General Hammond had joined them and was watching with just as much bewilderment as everyone else.

Finally, Daniel finished whatever it was that he had been doing.

"Okay, so are you going to clue us in now?" Jack asked.

"Each symbol on the Stargate has a corresponding sound, probably so that they can be spoken aloud," Daniel explained.

"Like an alphabet," Sam said.

"Yes." He looked at everyone. "Do you realize what this means?" Only blank stares answered him. He impatiently explained. "Praclarush Taonas! Six syllables! It isn't just the name of the planet, it's also the gate address. Look." He showed them what he'd written, which turned out to be all of the Stargate glyphs with single syllable words beside each of them. Daniel pointed to one. "This is 'nas'. And here is 'pra'. They're all here, every syllable of the name."

"And 'at' is the sound for Earth's symbol?" Sam asked.

Daniel nodded excitedly. "Yes!"

"Can you write down the address?" she asked. Daniel immediately did so and handed the paper to her.

Sam sat at one of the consoles and checked the gate address log. "Daniel, we dialed this address over two years ago, but we couldn't establish a wormhole. The gate must be buried."

"Lost in fire," Daniel murmured. "My vision. The Stargate must have been destroyed or buried by volcanic activity."

"But what we're looking for could still be there," Sam reasoned. She turned back to the computer. "I could use the address to calculate the planet's location in space, but we'll need a ship to get there."

"Prometheus," Daniel suggested.

Hammond shook his head. "I don't believe that the president would allow Prometheus to leave. It would be Earth's only defense should one of the Goa'uld choose to attack us, and he is very concerned by that vision you had about an armada of Goa'uld ships."

"Okay, then what about Osiris' Al'Kesh? It's still at Area 51, right?"

"Yes, it is," Sam confirmed.

The general nodded. "Very well. I will contact the president."

"And I need to start packing," Daniel announced, then turned on his heel and left.

"Start what?" Jack said in surprise. He took off after Daniel. "Hey! Exactly how long are we gonna be gone?!"

--------------------------------------------------

Jack, Sam and Teal'c gaped at Daniel as he hurriedly gathered bits and pieces of equipment, piling them all up in a corner of the room.

"Not exactly what I was thinking when he said that he had to pack," Jack said. "Carter, was I like that when this happened to me?"

"Sort of, sir. You did start doing things without knowing why."

"It appears that Daniel Jackson is preparing to make a device of some sort, just as O'Neill did," Teal'c surmised.

Sam shook her head. "Well, _I_ sure can't figure out what it's going to be. Daniel? Do you have any idea--"

"Nope! Not a clue," the archeologist called out in reply, not pausing in what he was doing. Then he did pause. "Well, not _no_ clue, just not much of one. For some reason, I keep flashing on a ring platform." Shrugging, Daniel returned to what he'd been doing.

"Well, I _am_ clueless," Jack stated. "I'm also getting dizzy watching him, not to mention hungry. We didn't finish our dinner."

At that moment, General Hammond came in. He watched Daniel with a surprised expression for a while, then turned to the others.

"The president has authorized the trip. However, the vice president has insisted on coming here to be filled in personally and assess the situation. He will be arriving in the morning."

That news succeeded in stopping Daniel. "We can't wait that long. We have to go as soon as possible."

"Can you tell me why, Doctor Jackson?"

"No, I just know that time is of the essence."

"I'm afraid that Vice President Kinsey won't accept that as a reason to leave before he gets here."

"Forget Kinsey," Jack said. "The president gave us the green light. That's all we need."

"I'm sorry, but I do not have the authority to let you leave before the vice president gets here, not unless an imminent threat becomes known."

With an exasperated sound, Daniel returned to his "packing". It was quite late before he finished. Janet, who wasn't about to leave the base until after this situation with Daniel was resolved, ordered him and his teammates to get some sleep.

Though Daniel did try to follow the doctor's orders, he found it almost impossible to rest. The dam that had been holding back the bulk of Ancients' knowledge was apparently cracking, and things were leaking through. A hodgepodge of images, words, and thoughts were slowly filling Daniel's mind. He was able to sort through the jumble enough to know that none of it had anything to do with the Lost City, but he also couldn't make use of any of it. It was too much, coming too quickly and too chaotically.

By the time morning arrived, Daniel's head felt like it was going to suffer a nuclear meltdown, and he was totally exhausted. Jack had insisted on staying in the room with him and had to keep him from falling when he got out of bed.

"Daniel?" the colonel asked softly in concern.

The archeologist sighed. "I guess there's no point in saying that I'm fine."

"No."

"Okay, I'm _not_ fine. In fact, I feel lousy."

"Which is exactly how you look."

"I just need a shower, some coffee, and a handful of those pills Janet gave me."

"Okay on the shower and the coffee, but if I let you O.D. on painkillers, the doc would stick a needle in me someplace I _really_ don't want to think about."

Daniel took his shower and got his coffee, and, thanks to the call Jack made to the infirmary while he was in the shower, he also got a visit from Janet. The doctor was extremely worried about the archeologist's condition and was not at all happy about the idea of him traipsing across the galaxy. Only the fact that Daniel absolutely had to go kept her from packing him off to the infirmary and keeping him there. She gave him a stronger painkiller for his headache, plus something he could take to help him sleep on the trip. Though she didn't tell him, the sleeping pills were a pretty high dosage. She wanted to make sure they worked.

The klaxons and the sound of an unauthorized gate activation sent Daniel and Jack to the control room. The caller turned out to be Bra'tac, whom Jack, Daniel and Hammond met in the gateroom.

"Master Bra'tac. It's good to see you again," the general greeted.

The Jaffa nodded. "I am afraid I am not the bearer of good news. We have had word from Jaffa loyal to our cause. Anubis is gathering the full force of his fleet. He will be here in three days."

"Oh, that's just _wonderful_," Jack muttered.

"The ships in my vision," Daniel said. "They _were_ heading for Earth."

Jack turned to Hammond. "Sir, permission to go get that Al'Kesh immediately. It's going to take us a while to get to Nevada, bring the ship back here, and load all that stuff into it."

"Of what do you speak?" Bra'tac asked.

"Well, there's been some stuff going on since your last visit," Jack answered. "To make it quick, we're pretty sure we know where the Lost City is, and we're preparing to go there."

"This is, indeed, good news. But you must hurry."

"Which is what I've been saying all along!" Daniel exclaimed in irritation.

Hammond nodded. "Let's go to the briefing room so that you can fill us in on what you know, Master Bra'tac. I will then call the president and tell him the news."

The three of them went up to the briefing room, where they were joined by Sam and Teal'c.

"Why is Anubis picking now to attack us?" Sam asked.

"I do not know the reason why," Bra'tac admitted. "The Jaffa who spoke to me could not answer that."

"It's because of the repository," Daniel said. "Anubis knows that we got there first. He must believe that we've learned the lochus of the Lost City." He turned to Hammond. "Sir, noo indeeo to leave now."

Everyone stared at Daniel, who didn't bother to translate. They could figure it out for themselves. Bra'tac, not knowing what was going on, was completely confused.

"I'll explain it to you later," Jack told him.

Hammond called the president to let him know what was happening. He learned that Kinsey would arrive at the mountain in about fifteen minutes. The president was going to call him and fill him in on everything.

While they waited for the vice president to get there, everyone told Bra'tac about what was going on. The Master Jaffa was excited by the thought of the knowledge that now resided within Daniel's mind, but was concerned by the threat that knowledge was posing to the archeologist's life.

When Kinsey arrived, he came into the room with the same sour expression that he often wore. "So, you did it again," he said. "Yet again, you've screwed up and put this planet at risk."

"No, what we've probably done is _save_ this planet again," Jack countered. "If we hadn't gotten to that repository first, all that knowledge would now be in Anubis' hands, and we'd be in really deep trouble."

"Instead, you've incurred his wrath and brought him and his fleet down upon us. And all you have," Kinsey turned his glare upon Daniel, "all Doctor _Jackson_ has is an empty promise that he can lead us to this so-called Lost City of the Ancients." He snorted derisively. "Like I believe that. You're just trying to cover up your mistake."

Daniel uttered something to Kinsey in Ancient, and, though no one understood what he'd said, it didn't sound very complimentary.

"Whatever it was that Daniel just said, I agree with him," Jack stated. "Kinsey, I've said it before and I'll say it again. You're an ass." He started to rise. "Now, if you will excuse us, we have a very long flight ahead of us, and we've wasted enough time with you."

Kinsey glared at him. "You're not going anywhere, Colonel, not until I say so."

"With all due respect, Mister Vice President, the president has already authorized SG-1 to go," Hammond responded, his voice and expression making it clear that he deemed Kinsey worthy of no respect at all. He turned to SG-1. "You have a go. Major Carter, I suggest that you call Area 51 and let them know that you're going to be getting the Al'Kesh."

"Yes, sir," Sam stood up and left the room.

Furious, Kinsey also stood. "I want to call the president immediately."

Hammond waved his hand in the direction of his office. "I believe you know where the phone is."

Kinsey stormed past them and went to the office, slamming the door behind him. The general turned to Daniel.

"Doctor Jackson, are you all right?" he asked, not liking the parlor of the archeologist's skin.

"Eetium, sir. Um, I mean yes. Well, not really, but I guess I'm as well as can be expected. Egoo indeeo. . . ." Daniel stopped and sighed. Pronouncing his words slowly and firmly, he started again. "I need to gather a few more things for the trip."

"Of course. Teal'c, please accompany him."

Once Daniel and Teal'c were gone, Hammond turned to Jack. "He's getting worse."

"Yes, sir," Jack replied in a subdued voice.

"Daniel Jackson does not look well," Bra'tac observed.

"He looks like hell, and I'm betting that he feels like hell, too. I know for a fact that he got virtually no sleep last night, and he looked like death warmed over when he got up."

"Do you think that he is physically capable of making this trip?" the general asked.

"Probably not, but we really don't have a choice, now do we. Out of all of us, Daniel is the one who _has_ to go."


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

"Mister President, I must protest this!" Kinsey exclaimed into the phone in Hammond's office. "I don't trust SG-1. They could be up to anything. How do we really know that they're being honest about this? It might just be a ploy to save their own skins."

"Oh, come on, Bob. Get real. After all the times they've risked themselves to save this planet, you actually think that they'd turn tail and run now?" A humorous thought popped into the president's head. "Hey, here's an idea, Bob. Since you're so mistrusting of their motives, why don't you go with them, just to make sure they're really going to do what they say they are?"

Kinsey stammered out a word or two before replying, "Mister President, though you know that I'd gladly sacrifice my life for the sake of our country, going with SG-1 would not be a wise use of my abilities. After all, I'm a politician, not a soldier."

"You got _that_ right," Hayes muttered under his breath. More loudly, he said, "Since this planet that SG-1 wants to go to may be the only hope Earth has, I'd have to be an idiot not to let them go. So, just get on a plane and get back here. It's a safe bet that things are going to start getting hot pretty soon."

--------------------------------------------------

Sam came storming into Daniel's office, surprising the rest of SG-1 and Bra'tac.

"You're not going to believe this!" she exclaimed. "They took it apart!"

"They took what apart?" Jack asked, getting a sinking feeling in his gut.

"The Al'Kesh! Well, not the whole thing. They were studying some of the systems, and the only way to do it properly was to disassemble them."

"And how long is it going to take for them to put it all back together?"

"A good sixteen to eighteen hours, if not longer."

Jack turned to Teal'c. "T, when we get to Area 51, remind me to kill someone."

"We can't afford to lose that much time," Daniel said.

"I bet you could speed them up, Carter," Jack stated. "Okay, here's what we'll do. We'll load all that stuff Daniel gathered on a truck and take it with us to Peterson. Then we'll take a cargo plane to Nevada. That way, when they do get the Al'Kesh put back together, all we'll have to do is load the equipment onto it, and we can leave straight from there."

"I will go with you," Bra'tac said. "If you are truly going to the Lost City of the Ancients, I wish to see it."

"Sure, why not? The more, the merrier."

A while later, SG-1 and Bra'tac were on a military plane to Nevada. The Jaffa Master was not impressed by the aircraft and complained about its primitiveness.

When they landed on the airstrip at Area 51, a car was waiting for them, as well as a truck for the equipment. SG-1 and Bra'tac were taken to the main facility and greeted by Colonel Raines, the man presently in charge.

"Okay, so who's the idiot that decided to take the Al'Kesh apart?" Jack asked.

"Well, if we'd known that the fate of the planet was going to depend on the thing, we wouldn't have done so," Raines snapped.

Jack prepared to say something even more cutting, but Sam jumped in. "How far have they gotten on putting everything back together, sir?" she asked Raines.

"They've made good strides, but it's still going to be a while."

"Maybe I can help."

Raines nodded. "It's in Hanger 3. I'm sure you know where that is."

Sam hurried off to give the other scientists a hand. Jack glanced at Daniel and saw that he looked even paler than before.

"Is there someplace we can rest and wait for them to get finished?" Jack asked Raines.

"Of course. We have a VIP lounge."

As soon as they reached the lounge, Daniel collapsed onto the couch. He closed his eyes and laid his head against the backrest. He didn't have to be psychic to know that the other three occupants of the room were watching him with deep concern.

"Do you need another pain pill?" Jack asked.

"It's not time yet, not for another few hours."

"Then maybe you should lie down, get some sleep."

"I don't think I _could_ sleep."

"Didn't the doc give you some sleeping pills?"

"Yeah, but I don't want to take one until after we're on our way. They'll probably completely knock me out."

"And what's wrong with that? We're going to be waiting a while, and there sure isn't anything important that you need to do in the meantime."

"Maybe later. I can try to get some sleep without them."

Daniel laid down on the couch and closed his eyes, but his belief that he wouldn't be able to sleep proved true as the minutes ticked by. He kept trying, though, just so that Jack wouldn't bug him.

They were served lunch by an airman, but the archeologist had little appetite. By the time he was due for his next pain pill, he was more than ready for it. It didn't succeed in completely getting rid of his headache, but it helped some.

As the hours passed, Jack became increasingly worried about Daniel. The archeologist was barely speaking, and the few times that he did, half the words were spoken in Ancient. Every now and then, there was this frightening look in his eyes, as if his mind was no longer with them. Every time that happened, Jack was afraid that Daniel wouldn't come back to them.

It was late afternoon when Jack finally put his foot down and ordered Daniel to take one of the sleeping pills.

"If I take one now, I'd probably still be asleep when it's time to go," the younger man objected.

"So? If you are, Teal'c here can always carry you, if he has to."

Daniel gave him a sour look, then sighed and nodded. He really did need to get some sleep, and his head was killing him, even with the medication.

Jack did not fail to notice the tremor in Daniel's hands as he swallowed the pill with some water. It took only about half an hour for the drug to knock the archeologist out. He was still out when, several hours later, Sam came in, announcing that the Al'Kesh was ready to go and that the equipment and supplies were being loaded. She looked over at the couch and smiled slightly.

"I'm glad to see that he's getting some sleep. I hate to wake him."

"Well, we wouldn't _have_ to," Jack responded. "I did mention something about Teal'c carrying him."

Knowing that Daniel wouldn't appreciate being carried around like a sleeping child, Sam went over to him. She knelt by the couch and touched her friend's arm. "Daniel? Daniel, it's time to get up." There was no reply. Sam shook his arm. "Come on, Daniel. Wake up. It's time to go."

The linguist awoke abruptly, his eyes blinking open. "Wha . . . what?" He looked at everyone. "What's going on?"

"The Al'Kesh is ready," Sam told him.

"Oh. Okay."

With a little help from Sam, Daniel got to his feet, swaying slightly as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "I hate sleeping pills," he mumbled.

"Yeah, well, they did the trick, which is all that matters," Jack responded. "You needed the sleep, Daniel. Once we get going, you can lay back down. I'll even let you have Osiris' bedroom with that big, cushy bed, that is if they didn't take it out."

Sam helped guide Daniel to the Al'Kesh. The sleeping pill still had him partially in its grip, so he wasn't quite all there. As soon as they got onboard, Sam insisted that he lay back down. Fortunately, the bed in Osiris' chambers had not be taken out yet.

Once Daniel had fallen back asleep, the astrophysicist joined the others in the cockpit.

Jack turned to her. "Is Sleeping Beauty all tucked in?"

"Yes, sir. It didn't take long for him to fall back asleep. Those must have been really heavy-duty sleeping pills that Janet gave him." Sam looked out the window and saw that they had already left Earth's orbit and would soon be entering hyperspace. Even as she had that thought, they made the jump.

"So, how long is it going to take us to get there?" Jack asked.

"I'm not sure, sir. I have some ideas for boosting the power of the engines, but I honestly can't say how much time it's going to gain us. I'm afraid, though, that, no matter what I do, we're not going to get there and back before Anubis reaches Earth."

"Well, then I guess we'd better pray that there's something left of Earth by the time we get back."

"Colonel, there is one thing that I didn't tell you before. The Asgard transporter is off-line. It was going to take another five or six hours to get it back together, and I decided that we couldn't afford to lose the time."

"Okay, so what do we do about that?"

"I don't have time to deal with it right now. I have to work on the engines. Once I'm finished, I can turn my attention to the transporter, although, working alone, it'll take at least half a day for me to finish it. It's an incredibly complex piece of technology. We might just have to rely on the rings. I sure hope there a platform where we're going."

Sam got busy on the engines immediately, Bra'tac lending her his knowledge and expertise. They'd been at it for several hours when Jack ordered Sam to take a break and eat something.

Munching on a sandwich, Sam went in to check on Daniel. She sat on the bed and watched him sleep, reaching out to brush a hand through his hair.

"Don't you die on us, Daniel. Please," she whispered.

Sam went over to a big, cushy chair in the corner of the room and sat down. For several minutes, she sat there, looking at Daniel's sleeping face. Slowly, her eyes drooped shut, and she drifted into dreamless sleep.

--------------------------------------------------

Sam awoke slowly. Her eyes opened to the sight of Daniel watching her.

"Daniel!" Sam exclaimed softly, straightening in the chair. That's when she realized that someone had covered her with a blanket. "I'm sorry. I guess I dozed off."

"There's no need to apologize, Sam. You look like you needed the sleep."

Before Sam could respond, there was a light knock on the door.

"Come on in, Jack," Daniel called.

The door opened and Jack looked in. "Ah, so you're both awake, huh. Have a nice nap, Carter?"

Guessing that it had been the colonel who put the blanket on her Sam replied, "Yes, sir." She looked at her watch and saw that she'd been asleep for nearly five hours. "Crap!" She leapt out of the chair. "Sir, you shouldn't have let me sleep this long. I have to keep working on the engines."

"Carter, you can't work well if you're exhausted. You needed the sleep."

Sam knew that he was right, but hated the thought of having lost five hours. "I need to get back to work on them."

As Sam hurried out of the room, Daniel sat up. Jack's eyes turned to him. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. The headache's not nearly as bad. I guess I needed the sleep, too."

"Yes, you did."

Daniel pulled the covers aside and swung his feet over the side of the bed.

"Don't you think you should get more rest?" Jack asked uncertainly.

Daniel looked at his watch, stunned at what it said. "Uh, no, I think I've slept plenty enough for now, Jack. I feel fine. Actually, I think I could manage to eat something now."

Daniel got up and made himself a sandwich. Jack did as well, and the two of them had their meal together. Their conversation steered clear of anything to do with what was happening to Daniel, something for which the archeologist was grateful. He knew that Jack was still determined to believe that, one way or another, everything was going to turn out all right, which meant that Daniel couldn't talk to him about things that needed to be discussed.

Once Daniel was finished eating, he joined Teal'c in the cockpit.

"You appear well rested, Daniel Jackson," the Jaffa said.

"Well, I should, considering how long I slept."

"Then you are feeling better?"

"Yes, although I know it's only temporary." Daniel looked over his shoulder and saw that, for the moment, they were alone, Jack having gone to check in on Sam and Bra'tac. His gaze turned to the Jaffa. "Teal'c, we haven't really talked since things started going downhill with my . . . condition. There are some things I need to talk about. I can't talk about them with Sam. It upsets her too much. And Jack, well, he's still convinced that everything is going to be all right. He wouldn't want to listen to me."

"Of what do you need to speak?"

"If . . . I don't make it, and if it's at all possible, I want to be buried in Egypt, in Abydos, to be exact. I know that the Abydos here on Earth isn't much like Sha're's home, but it's as close as I could get." Daniel smiled a little. "I was even there once, many years ago while I was on a dig." The smile vanished. "Those were good times, like that year I spent with Sha're and her people." A faint shadow of the smile returned. "If the Egyptian government won't go for it, maybe you can sneak my ashes over there and scatter them on the Great Pyramid or something. Actually, that would be rather appropriate considering that it was my theories on the Great Pyramid that ended up getting me into the Stargate Program."

Teal'c met his gaze. "I promise you, Daniel Jackson, that, if you should die, your remains will come to rest in Egypt."

Daniel looked into the Jaffa's eyes, seeing pain and sorrow there. He nodded. "Thank you." He paused for a long moment. "Teal'c, don't . . . don't let Jack keep blaming himself for this. I know that he's going to. He feels like it should have been him. I made a mistake in telling him that it _would_ have been him if I hadn't pushed him aside, although, even if I hadn't told him, Jack would still blame himself for not stopping it."

"O'Neill is a great and caring leader. He believes that it is better for him to be the one to suffer or die rather than the people he commands."

"Yeah."

"He also loves you as a brother."

Daniel simply nodded, his gaze dropping.

Teal'c's voice grew very soft. "As do I."

Daniel looked up into Teal'c's eyes and was surprised to see the tiniest glimmer of tears there. "Teal'c. . . ." he began, his voice failing before he could say anything else.

"I do not know if you remember what I said to you when you lay dying from the radiation poisoning, so I will say it again. You have been one of the greatest friends I have ever had. I did not think that such a thing would be possible, not when I was responsible for so much of the pain in your life, but I am grateful that it is so. You have taught me much in these years that we have been together. You showed me the true meaning of mercy and forgiveness. I know that I was not strong enough to give forgiveness to my enemies in the way that you could, but, before I met you, forgiveness for an enemy was not something I could have given at all."

Daniel's gaze had fallen to his lap again. He didn't know what to say.

"I will be forever in your debt, Daniel Jackson, for your friendship, for your trust and faith in me, for the things you have taught me, and for my life and the lives of my son and Master Bra'tac."

Daniel shook his head. "For your life? Teal'c you've saved my life a lot more times than I did yours."

"This is not true, Daniel Jackson. It was because of your impassioned pleas in my defense at the Cor-ai on Cartago that the Byrsa began to accept that I was not the same man I used to be."

"Teal'c, what I said didn't do any good. They were still going to execute you even after everything I told them."

"Yet, would Hanno's eyes have been truly opened at the end if he had not heard your words first? I think not. Even if this were not the case, yet again you saved my life when, despite your physical condition and all the opposition you faced, you fought to convince Doctor MacKenzie and Doctor Fraiser that I had been infected with that device of Machello's. If your determination had wavered, I would now be dead, just as I would be dead if you had not endured the interrogation and torture of the Bedrosians when they attempted to find out about me from you. And if it had not been for your success in getting the DHD from the Russians when my pattern was trapped within the buffer of the Stargate, I would have surely died." Teal'c's gaze deepened. "And I will never forget that you sacrificed your greatest hope to free Sha're from Amaunet when you destroyed Thor's Hammer."

Daniel closed his eyes and turned away. "If I hadn't done it, Jack or Sam would have."

"Yes, but you did do it, though you could have asked that another do it instead."

Daniel's gaze went to the view out the window.

"There is something else that you wish to say," Teal'c guessed, not phrasing it as a question.

A little sigh escaped Daniel's lips. "For a very long time, I had a lot of regrets about my life, about Sha're, about the things I failed to accomplish. It wasn't until I remembered how truly powerless I was to help while I was ascended that I realized I _did_ accomplish something in my life, that I _did_ make a difference. Ever since I took the download from the repository, I've had time to think about everything. I still have regrets, a lot of them, actually, but I'm . . . content with what I've done with my life, with what I've managed to achieve." He turned to Teal'c. "I want you and everyone else to know that, if this really is it for me, it's enough."

The hours dragged by as the Al'Kesh continued to make its way toward their destination. The problem was that it was making it too slowly. They were over twelve hours into the journey when a frustrated Sam plopped down into one of the folding chairs that they'd brought.

"No luck?" Jack asked.

"Not much, sir. We've managed to increase the power some, maybe enough to shave half a day or so off, but it's not enough."

"Um, couldn't you use the Naquadah generator?" Daniel inquired. "I remember reading the file about what happened when you first met Warrick. You boosted the power of his engines with a Naquadah generator. And didn't you do it again to help him in that race?"

Sam's expression turned thoughtful. "To be honest, I didn't think about that." She shook her head. "It probably wouldn't work, though. The Sebrus used liquid nitrogen to fuel an ion-propulsion system. The Al'Kesh engines are completely different."

"Hey, it's worth a try, isn't it?" Jack said. "Well, as long as you don't blow us up in the process."

Sam nodded, her frustration being replaced with hope. "Yes, it is." She made a move to get up, but Jack stopped her.

"Ah! You've been at it nonstop for hours, Carter. Just sit and rest for a while, eat something."

Sam was about to object, but changed her mind. Actually, she could use something to eat.

Sam, Daniel and Jack shared an early lunch. They were nearly finished when Daniel spoke a word in Ancient. The light conversation came to an abrupt halt.

"Well, we all knew it was going to start again sooner or later," the archeologist said quietly.

Sam got to her feet, a faint look of distress on her face. "I need to get back to the engines."

"You should have let me be the one, Daniel," Jack murmured after a moment. Then he, too, walked away.

Sam worked on the engines for the rest of the day, only stopping when Jack ordered her to get some sleep. The colonel wanted Daniel to take another sleeping pill, but, this time, no amount of harassing would budge the archeologist. Something was nagging at him, a feeling that he should be doing something, but he had no idea what it was. He kept hoping that it would come to him.

Anubis would reach Earth day after tomorrow, and if they failed to stop him, the planet would be doomed. What if they got all the way to Praclarush Taonas only to discover that the Lost City was gone, destroyed thousands of years ago? What if they got there and it turned out that the Lost City had never even been there at all?

Trying not to think about those possibilities, Daniel attempted to get a little sleep. He managed to get a few minutes here and there, though the gradually increasing headache and the return of his other symptoms made it progressively harder as the night wore on. He was the first to wake up and was making some coffee when Sam appeared.

"Hey. Get some sleep?" he asked her.

"Yeah, some. What about you?"

"A little bit." Daniel glanced about. Not seeing the box of pastries they'd brought, he asked about them, stopping abruptly when he realized that he'd spoken several of the words in Ancient.

"I think Teal'c and Bra'tac finished them up last night," Sam told him, trying not to get too upset about the words spoken in Ancient.

Despite what had just happened, Daniel had to laugh at the announcement. "Bra'tac?"

"Uh huh. It appears that he's got quite a sweet tooth. Who would have guessed?"

"Good morning, campers," Jack greeted, coming out of the room they had set up as the sleeping quarters. "What's for breakfast?"

"Not pastries," Daniel answered. "Our two Jaffa ate them all."

"I _knew_ we should have brought more!"

"Sir, you took the entire tray from the commissary," Sam reminded her C.O., "not to mention the one you snatched out of Siler's hand as he was bringing it up to his mouth."

"Yeah, well, he wasn't going on a several thousand light-year long trip."

"Well, there's always powdered eggs, Colonel," Sam suggested.

"And freeze-dried bacon," Daniel added.

Jack's expression told the two scientists what he thought about that idea.

The three of them managed to find something to eat for breakfast. They were joined by Teal'c, whom Jack gave a bad time about eating all the pastries, making comments about the Jaffa getting fat if he kept scarfing down the sweets like that. Teal'c pretty much ignored him.

After breakfast, Sam got back to work on the engines. By early afternoon, she'd had only a little luck. Although she was certain that there had to be a way to do it, she was having difficulty marrying the Naquadah generator to the Al'Kesh engines. Of course, it would have been easier if the engines weren't running, but they certainly couldn't stop. Every minute counted. Anubis would reach Earth tomorrow.

Daniel was starting to get bad again. It seemed to be progressing even faster this time. More than half of what he said was in Ancient, and he was spacing off a lot. Jack had convinced him to take another sleeping pill, but the drug appeared to be losing its effectiveness. He'd awakened after only three hours and never got back to sleep. Worse than that, it didn't seem to help any.

Later that afternoon, Sam finally succeeded in hooking the generator up to the engines and keeping them running smoothly. There was a substantial increase in the speed of the craft, though not as much as she was hoping they'd get. Maybe with a bit of fine-tuning, she could get even more velocity. She devoted a couple more hours to it, and got a fraction more speed. She was determined to get even more.

Deciding to take a break first and get some dinner, Sam left the engine room. Bra'tac was in the pilot's seat, Teal'c and Jack busy fixing dinner. Daniel was standing between the two seats in the cockpit, staring out the window. Sam walked up to him. What she saw frightened her. Daniel's face was empty of all expression, his gaze seemingly focused inward upon some deep and unknowable thing within his mind.

"Daniel?" Sam inquired softly. There was no response, the archeologist's eyes remaining distant and unmoving.

"He has been thus for quite some time now," Bra'tac told her. "His mind appears to no longer be with us, as if he is looking at something that he alone can see."

Sam felt her chest tighten as the horrifying realization came to her that Daniel wasn't going to make it. He'd never survive the days they still had left to travel. He would be dead long before they reached Praclarush Taonas. No! She couldn't accept that!

Sam turned Daniel toward her. "Daniel? You can't leave us. We still need you." When there was no reply and the archeologist's eyes remained vacant, Sam tightened her grip on his shoulders and shook him a little. "Daniel, _please_. You have to hang on."

Daniel's eyes blinked very slowly. When the lids opened, there was awareness in the blue depths.

"Sam?"

"Hey. You okay?"

"Um . . . eeti. . . ." Daniel stopped himself before completing the Ancient word, giving a little sigh. "Did I zone out again?"

"Yes, and you really had me worried. How are you doing?"

"Tua . . . you want the truth?"

Sam nodded.

"Not so euge." Daniel closed his eyes upon realizing that he'd yet again spoken Ancient. He tried to tell Sam that he didn't think that he'd be able to speak English for much longer, but, ironically, almost half his words were in Ancient. Looking at Sam's expression, he could tell that she was extremely worried.

Trying not to show how scared she was, Sam said, "Come on. Let's get some dinner."

Daniel left with Sam, knowing that the odds were not good that he'd manage to make it to their destination alive.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

Daniel frequently felt the eyes of his three teammates upon him as he ate. He knew that they were really worried. He was, too. Sleep was no longer helping him, his downward slide now going unabated. The Ancient knowledge in his mind was filling every part of his awareness. He was seeing so much, the knowledge of countless millions of years flowing into his brain like water flowing from the floodgates of a dam. It was taking all of Daniel's willpower not to get lost in it, not to be pulled under by the current and never surface. Sometimes, it felt like he was no longer even in his own body anymore, as if he was soaring free through the infinite depths of the universe. When that happened, time passed without his awareness, minutes going by in the blink of an eye. He'd lost over an hour this last time.

By the end of dinner, Daniel had given up trying to speak English since nearly every other word he uttered was in Ancient. He'd resorted to writing down what he wanted to say. The linguist knew that, very soon, he would no longer be able to do that either. They should have brought someone to help translate.

Once she'd finished eating, Sam got busy on the engines again, feverishly trying to get every scrap of speed she could out of them. Bra'tac joined her in an effort to help however he could. The major politely but firmly refused when Jack told her to go to bed at a little after midnight, reminding him that it was now Thursday, the day Anubis was due to reach Earth.

It was going on 4 a.m. when Sam and Bra'tac finally accepted that they weren't going to be able to get any more speed out of the engines. Sam carefully calculated how long it would take them to cover the remaining distance to the planet. What she learned was not good news. She redid the figures several times before accepting that they were right.

She went into the sleeping quarters. Jack was lying on one of the cots, his eyes on Daniel, who was sitting on another cot, yet again zoned out.

"We're coaxing everything we can out of the engines, but I figured it out, and we're still two days away," Sam announced. A feeling of helplessness began to overwhelm her. "I don't know what else to do. Anubis could reach Earth at any moment."

Daniel blinked and looked up at her. He then stood unexpectedly and walked out of the room. Exchanging a glance, Sam and Jack followed. The archeologist went to the room where they'd stored the things he had gathered at the SGC. He grabbed a few things, and took them to the engine room, muttering something in Ancient. As his two teammates watched, he began to do something with the engines.

"Daniel, what are you doing?" Sam asked.

Daniel pulled out the notebook he'd been writing in and scribbled something, handing it to the astrophysicist, who read it out loud.

"'Need to go faster.'" She looked back at Daniel.

"Something tells me that we're going to get an extra burst of speed," Jack commented.

"Um . . . yeah, I think so, sir. I just hope it's enough."

For the next hour, Sam watched Daniel work, trying to keep track of what he was doing. But it was impossible. He was working too quickly, making changes and adjustments that Sam, with all her intelligence, couldn't keep up with or understand. She did not question him when he undid all her hard work by removing the Naquadah generator.

At last, Daniel went to the bank of control crystals. He quickly began rearranging them, replacing some with their supply of spare crystals.

Standing back, Daniel said something in Ancient.

"What?" Sam asked.

Instead of writing down the translation, Daniel got her zat gun. He fired it at the crystals. Immediately, the pitch of the engines increased. Handing the zat to her, the archeologist fiddled with the crystals a bit more, then closed the panel. He left the room without a word. Sam followed him to the cockpit.

"Our speed has increased greatly," Teal'c announced.

"No Goa'uld ship can attain such speeds," Bra'tac stated with a touch of awe in his voice.

Sam took a look at the readings. "Oh my God. Wow. At this speed, we'll be at our destination in no time."

"That's great," Jack said. "Maybe we'll make it after all. Great work, Dan. . . . Daniel!"

The colonel's sudden shout made everyone turn to see Jack catch the archeologist as his legs gave out. Sam jumped forward and helped lower Daniel to a seated position on the floor. Horrified, she watched as his eyes rolled back into his head, his body going limp.

"No!" Jack yelled. He shook the younger man. "Daniel, don't you quit on us." Getting no response, Jack slapped Daniel's cheek rather hard. The slap did the trick. Daniel's eyes blinked a few times, focusing on the colonel. He said something in Ancient, which Jack guessed was probably not a compliment.

"Go ahead and curse me out all you like, Danny Boy," Jack told him. "I'm not letting you poop out on us. You've still got a job to do."

Teal'c got out of the co-pilot's seat so that they could put Daniel there. SG-1 all watched the archeologist like a hawk, making sure that he didn't start to lose consciousness again.

It took less than an hour to reach the planet. However, when they got there, it was to a sight that none of them wanted to see.

"Oh, this doesn't look good," Sam said, her heart sinking. "The surface is almost completely covered by lava flows."

"How could anyone have lived in that hell?" Jack asked.

"A star becomes a red giant like this near the end of its life. A million years ago, this planet may have looked very much like Earth."

"Carter, are you saying that we're a million years too late?"

"Probably more."

Everyone turned to Daniel, whose eyes were unblinkingly fixed upon the planet. Sam remembered the words he'd translated back on Earth. "Lost in fire." Had their hopes been lost in fire a million years ago?

Bra'tac spent the next several minutes scanning the entire surface of the planet for something, looking for some tiny piece of land that had remained untouched by the destruction, but there was nothing.

"I have scanned the entire surface," he announced.

Again, everyone looked at Daniel, who seemed unaware of what was going on.

"Daniel did pack the Haz-Mat suits for us," Sam said. "My guess is that he knew the condition of the planet and knew that we would have to go down there."

"Down to what?!" Jack exclaimed. "There's nothing there anymore."

Just then, Daniel opened a holoscreen showing the surface of the planet. "Taonas," he murmured.

Everybody stared at the holoscreen as it zoomed in on something.

"There's a small anomaly on the surface here," Sam, said, pointing at it, "like a bubble."

"Is it a cavern?" Bra'tac asked.

"It looks like a perfectly formed half-sphere of molten rock."

"Perhaps it is a force field protecting the city, which has now been covered over," Teal'c suggested.

"Too small to have a city in there, and we aren't getting any energy readings from it," Sam responded.

"Perhaps the shield has since failed."

Knowing that they couldn't afford to just give up, Jack said, "We need to check it out."

As Daniel, Sam, Jack and Teal'c got into their Haz-Mat suits, Bra'tac took the ship in close to the surface of the planet to hover over the dome.

"I have found a place where the crust may be thin enough for the rings to penetrate," he called out. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, just a sec!" Jack called back. He and the others hurried to the ring platform, putting on their helmets. Daniel had to stop to take off his glasses first so that they wouldn't get knocked off by the helmet. He laid them off to the side.

"Okay, go for it, Bra'tac," Jack said as soon as they were ready.

Seconds later, SG-1 was standing within a cavern. A dark red light cast everything in an ominous glow.

"Can you still hear me?" asked Bra'tac's voice over the radio.

"Yes, Bra'tac, Verizon can still hear you," Jack quipped.

"What is Verison?" the Master Jaffa asked.

"I'll tell you later."

"Very well. I will move a safe distance and return on your signal."

Jack, Sam and Teal'c all turned on their flashlights. Daniel stepped forward, apparently knowing where he was going. The others followed him, looking around at the eerie surroundings as they passed stalactites and stalagmites.

Sam checked a reading on one of her scanners. "The radiation level is pretty high."

"It does, indeed, appear that a shield once protected this structure," Teal'c said.

"It's possible that the rings compromised the dome's integrity. We shouldn't stay too long."

"Oh, what a shame," Jack remarked sarcastically. "I just _love_ the decor. This whole Dante's Inferno look is so rad."

At last, the team reached a chamber. At its center was something that looked an awful lot like a throne sitting on a dais.

"This facility does not appear operational," Teal'c stated.

Sam looked around. "I don't know about you guys, but, right now, I'm kinda hoping this isn't the Lost City."

Daniel stepped up to the throne.

"Daniel, be careful," Sam called out.

Acting like he didn't hear her, the archeologist sat on the chair, which instantly started glowing blue, as did the dais.

"Daniel. I'm not so sure this is such a good idea," Jack told him.

Ignoring him, Daniel put his left hand on the armrest, touching what looked like some kind of control pad. A force field abruptly activated, and he took off his helmet.

Sam checked the scanner in her hand. "The atmosphere is safe."

Daniel was using the strange, gelatinous control pad on the end of the armrest again. The footrest of the chair rose as its back reclined. The rest of SG-1 took off their helmets. A moment later, a holographic projection appeared overhead.

"It's a map of the galaxy," Sam said, gazing up at it. There were hundreds of brightly glowing dots. "I wonder if these are all the planets the Ancients colonized."

The view of the projection changed to show a solar system.

"That's our solar system," Sam announced.

The image zoomed in on one of the planets.

"Earth."

"That does not appear to be Earth," Teal'c said.

"No, it is Earth," Sam confirmed, "before thirty million years of continental drift had its effect on the way things look." She looked at the man seated in the chair. "Why are you showing us this, Daniel?"

"Terre Atlantus," Daniel responded.

Sam's eyebrows rose. "Terra? That's another word for Earth. Atlantus? My God, do you think he means Atlantis?"

"The lost city of Atlantis?" Teal'c questioned. "Is that not a myth?"

"Apparently not," Jack said.

Sam looked at Daniel and pointed at the hologram. "Are you saying that the Lost City of the Ancients is on Earth?" When the archeologist did not answer, she looked back at the hologram.

Sam pointed at one of the continents. "Antarctica," she murmured, thinking of the location where the second Stargate was found.

"Subo glacius," Daniel said.

Jack looked at him. "Okay, so what does _that_ mean?"

"Subo glacius. Subo glacius," Sam muttered. "I know that 'sub' is Latin, meaning 'under' or 'underneath'."

"'Glacius' bears a resemblance to the word 'glacier'," Teal'c pointed out.

"Glacier? Ice?" Sam looked at Daniel again. "Under the ice? The city we've been looking for is in Antarctica, under the ice? It's been on Earth the whole time?"

"You mean to say we came all this way for nothing?!" Jack exclaimed.

Daniel shook his head. He pressed the control pad again. As the chair returned to its original position, he put his helmet back on. Guessing that the force field was going to be disabled, the rest of SG-1 quickly put theirs on, too. Daniel rose from the chair and went to the edge of the dais. He waved his hand over one spot. A panel slid open and an object that looked like a cluster of glowing orange crystals rose up. Daniel pulled it out, causing the protective force field to disappear. He handed the object to Sam.

"Power source," she murmured.

"Here. Give it to me," Jack said, taking the device.

Suddenly, a cracking sound from above their heads turned SG-1's attention upward. Realizing that the dome was failing, they hurried away, dust and chunks of rock falling down all around them.

"Bra'tac, we're on our way back," Jack radioed. "And we're in a bit of a hurry, so don't dawdle!"

"I will be there shortly, O'Neill," Bra'tac responded.

Debris raining down upon them, SG-1 ran as quickly as they could toward the ring platform. They had almost made it to the rings when a huge chunk of rock struck Teal'c in the head. He collapsed, and the others rushed to his side. Seeing that the Jaffa was unconscious, Jack was about to lift him up over his shoulders when Daniel stopped him. The archeologist picked Teal'c up like he weighed no more than a feather, then ran the rest of the way to the rings. Jack and Sam hurried after him. Seconds later, they were being ringed up to the Al'Kesh.

Daniel gently laid Teal'c down. After stripping off his own helmet, Jack carefully removed Teal'c's, staring in horror at what was revealed. A ghastly wound marred the Jaffa's head. Though Jack was not a doctor, it was obvious to him and everyone else that Teal'c had a severe compressed skull fracture.

"Oh, God," Sam whispered. "Sir, with that kind of head injury. . . ." Her voice halted as tears came to her eyes. There could be no doubt that Teal'c had suffered significant brain damage and was probably dying.

"It is a fatal wound," Bra'tac said, his voice rough with anguish at the knowledge that a man he looked upon as a son was going to die.

"Teal'c? Come on, buddy. You can't do this to us," Jack said in a tone also full of pain.

Someone touched Jack's arm. He turned and looked into Daniel's eyes. A gentle smile graced the archeologist's features. He then looked back down at Teal'c. He reached out his hand and placed it upon Teal'c's head, over the wound. His eyes closed, and his head dipped, his body growing still.

With a feeling of awe, the others watched as Teal'c's injury began to heal right before their eyes. Within seconds, it was gone. The Jaffa's eyes fluttered open.

Daniel swayed and would have fallen over if Jack did not grab hold of him.

"Whoa, Daniel. Stay with us," the colonel said.

Bra'tac helped Teal'c sit up.

"What has occurred?" the younger Jaffa asked, confused.

"You were hurt, Teal'c, a bad head injury," Sam explained, "and . . . and Daniel healed you. It was incredible."

"Daniel Jackson has gained the healing power of the Ancients?"

"Apparently so," Jack replied. "That sure didn't happen to _me_ when I went through this."

Teal'c met Daniel's eyes. "Yet again, I owe you my life."

Daniel did not reply, but something in his eyes made the Jaffa believe that the archeologist had heard and understood him.

"Set a course for Earth, Bra'tac," Jack said. "The Lost City is there."

"On Earth?" the Master Jaffa responded in surprise.

"Yep. Surprise, surprise."

As Bra'tac piloted the ship away from the planet and into hyperspace, Jack and Sam led Daniel to the sleeping quarters, Teal'c going with them. They sat the archeologist on one of the cots.

Teal'c studied Daniel's blank expression. "Daniel Jackson, can you hear us?" There was no response at all.

Jack cupped Daniel's face in his hand and turned the archeologist's head toward him. "Come on, Daniel. I know you're in there somewhere. We're on our way back to Earth, to the Lost City. We still need you."

When Jack's words failed to get any kind of response, he met Sam's eyes, which were dark with fear.

"We're losing him," she whispered.

Jack's head shook. "No. He's still fighting. We're going to make it, _he's_ going to make it."

They were all startled when Daniel abruptly got to his feet. The archeologist left the room and headed to the engine room, the others following him. He got the Naquadah generator and toolbox and took them to where the transporter rings were. He then began collecting others items from the things he had "packed" for the trip.

"Any idea what he's doing, Carter?" Jack asked.

"None, sir, but, whatever it is, I have a feeling we're going to need it."

--------------------------------------------------

Jack sat on the floor, watching Daniel work. The archeologist had been at it for over an hour. Sam still didn't know what he was doing and had gone to make some coffee.

Just then, Bra'tac came in. "Is Daniel Jackson creating a weapon for us to use against Anubis' fleet?"

"I have no idea. Carter can't figure it out yet either. He hasn't said a word or given us any clue."

The Jaffa's gaze remained on Daniel. "I will watch over him if you wish to refresh yourself, O'Neill."

Getting the feeling that Bra'tac wanted to be alone with Daniel, Jack got to his feet. "Okay. I could stand to stretch my legs for a bit. I'll be back later." He left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Bra'tac knelt beside Daniel, who continued to work as if unaware of his presence. "Daniel Jackson, I wish to thank you for saving the life of Teal'c. He is like a son to me, and a man can owe no greater debt than to the one who saves his son's life." He paused. "I also wish you to know that, if you do not survive this battle, your name will live in the minds and hearts of the Jaffa for all time. We will never forget how much we owe you." He placed his hand upon Daniel's shoulder.

Daniel lifted his gaze to Bra'tac. The Jaffa stared into a pair of fathomless eyes wise beyond the years of even the oldest Goa'uld, as if the knowledge and wisdom of the entire universe lay behind them. They left Bra'tac feeling awed and insignificant. Yet, within those eyes was also gentleness and understanding.

Daniel's hand came out and briefly touched Bra'tac's chest, over his heart. The Jaffa smiled softly and nodded.

The archeologist returned his attention to what he was doing. Getting to his feet, Bra'tac continued to watch him for several minutes, then left the room. Jack caught his gaze. The Jaffa nodded and headed for the cockpit.

"I'll watch Daniel, sir," Sam said. "I'm still hoping I can figure out what he's doing."

"Okay. Truth is, I was getting pretty tired sitting on the floor. My body can't take that kind of punishment like it used to. Let me know when you want me or Teal'c to spell you."

Sam finished her coffee and joined Daniel. She noticed how pale and drawn he appeared, like someone who was very ill. He hadn't put his glasses back on after the return from Taonas, and she could clearly see the deep shadows under his eyes. He looked as if he should be in bed, not trying to save the galaxy from an evil, powerful villain.

Even as that thought occurred to her, Daniel abruptly swayed, his eyes shutting. The major was immediately at his side, holding onto him.

"Daniel?" There was a small note of panic in Sam's voice.

After a few seconds, the archeologist appeared to gather more strength. Or perhaps it was that he tapped even deeper into his seemingly bottomless well of willpower. He straightened, his eyes clearing, and he returned to work.

Sam's gaze did not leave Daniel's face, a terrible fear deep inside her that, no matter how great his strength or willpower was, it was only a matter of time before this thing got the better of him. The only thing that could save him was if Thor finally answered their call for help.

"Daniel, we can't lose you," Sam said, tears filling her eyes. "You have to hang on. You have to be okay." Her voice broke.

She got to her feet and moved away a few paces, wiping the tears from her eyes. She turned around and looked down at him. She was about to say something, but the words died on her tongue. She frowned, staring at what Daniel was doing. She rushed up to him and sat back down.

"You're modifying the matter stream transmitter on the rings, aren't you. Okay, so why are you doing that?" She grabbed a piece of equipment and ran some scans of what he was doing. She found that he'd not only increased the strength of the transmitter substantially, he'd also altered them in ways that had her mouth dropping open, realization finally hitting her. "We're going to use it to bore a hole through the ice, aren't we. Okay! Now that I know what you're doing, I can help."

Sam got busy aiding Daniel, though it was odd working with someone who seemed to be only vaguely aware that she was helping. Her mind now on the task at hand, she pushed back the thought that, even if they succeeded in beating Anubis, Daniel might not live to celebrate the victory.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

Above the surface of Earth, three Goa'uld ships came to a stop. They immediately became visible to a U.S. space-based radar station. The moment the technicians became aware of the presence of the ships, they passed on the message, which was finally received by General John P. Jumper, the U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff. He and the National Security Advisor immediately went to the president, who was with Vice President Kinsey and General Maynard in the Oval Office.

"Mister President, a short time ago our space-based radar detected three Goa'uld vessels emerging from hyperspace," General Jumper announced.

"Just three?" Kinsey asked. "That's hardly the full force of Anubis' fleet."

Maynard spoke up. "I'd guess that this is an advance attack force. They're here to test our defenses, see if SG-1 was successful in getting Ancient defense technology."

"Which they weren't."

"No, not yet, but Anubis doesn't know that."

"And he's most likely holding back his main invasion fleet till he finds out what we've got," Hayes guessed.

"Sir, Prometheus and our fleet of 302's can give them a run for their money," General Jumper said.

"Let's do it," Kinsey said firmly.

Maynard shook his head. He turned to Hayes. "I agree with your assessment, Mister President. Anubis is attempting to goad us into action, which will show him the strength of our forces. If we launched Prometheus now, it would reveal that we lack the advanced weaponry he is worried about."

Kinsey was all ready to say that they needed to throw the full might of their power at Anubis now and show him that the United States of America was not to be messed with, but, at the last second, he changed his mind and stayed silent.

"Remain at DEFCON 3 for the time being," Hayes said, "but contact the governments of Russia, Great Britain, France, China and Canada, and let them know what we think we're in for. In the meantime, I'd better prepare a hell of a speech."

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Daniel and Sam had been working together for over an hour when Jack came in to check on them.

"Sir, I figured out what Daniel is doing," Sam told him. "He's modifying the matter stream transmitter on the rings so that we can use them to bore a hole through the ice."

"Cool. I hope it's going to be ready soon, because we'll be reaching Earth in less than an hour."

"You need to contact the SGC, Colonel, tell them what's going on."

"Right."

Jack hurried to the cockpit. "Teal'c, open up a channel to the SGC." The Jaffa immediately complied.

"Stargate Command, this is Colonel O'Neill. Can you read me?" Nothing but silence answered. "Stargate Command, come in please." Jack tried for another half a minute to contact the SGC. When all his hails failed to receive a reply, he shouted over his shoulder. "Carter! We've got a problem here!"

Sam came trotting out. "What's wrong, sir?"

"We can't get hold of the SGC."

"The sensors have detected Goa'uld ships in orbit around Earth," Bra'tac said. "Perhaps the attack has already begun, and Stargate Command has been destroyed."

"Ah! Don't say that!" Jack exclaimed.

Sam quickly checked the communications equipment. She suddenly started cursing up a blue streak, making both Jack's and Teal'c's eyebrows rise dramatically.

"Sir, the next time we go to Area 51, remind _me_ to kill someone," the major growled.

"What now?!"

"The Al'Kesh is equipped with an Asgard communications system, and it was one of the systems that the scientists were studying. Well, in the big rush, someone must have screwed up. We're not transmitting. Damn! I should have checked this before!"

"Carter, this is not your fault, and I will be _more_ than happy to let you commit homicide the next time we go to Area 51."

"Then we are unable to contact the SGC?" Teal'c asked.

"Not at the moment," Sam answered. "I'll get to work on it right away."

Sam frantically got busy trying to fix the problem. The thought that Anubis had arrived at Earth and might already be wiping out the population plaguing her mind. This couldn't be the end. It just couldn't!

They were only a few minutes away from Earth when Sam got the communications system fixed. Jack immediately tried to contact the SGC.

"Colonel O'Neill! This is Stargate Command. We read you, sir!" came the almost immediate reply.

"Get General Hammond."

"He's already on his way, sir."

Only a few seconds later, the general's voice came over the speaker. "Colonel, it's good to hear your voice."

"Yes, sir. I don't have time to explain, but the Lost City is on Earth, in Antarctica, probably right around where the second Stargate was found. We'll be arriving in just a few minutes, and we're going to need backup, sir."

"Consider it done, Jack. Stargate Command out."

Sam turned to Jack. "Sir, as soon as we come out of hyperspace, Anubis is going to detect us. We can't cloak the ship until after we enter normal space."

"The moment we emerge from hyperspace, we will activate the cloak," Bra'tac told them. "The ship will be visible for a mere instant."

"Let's hope that Anubis and his cronies aren't paying really close attention," Jack said.

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Her'ak, Anubis' First Prime, entered the room where his god stood looking out a window.

"My lord, the advance attack reports that they have received no challenge."

Anubis turned to face him. "Order them to begin the attack. If the Tau'ri have weapons of the Ancients, we shall see."

Her'ak bowed and left with a feeling of satisfaction. Soon, the Tau'ri of Earth would be no more.

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"Mister President, even though we have yet to see the bulk of Anubis' fleet, I agree that it is out there, waiting to see what we'll do," Hammond said to Hayes over the speakerphone. "Prometheus and the 302's can't possibly win against an entire Goa'uld fleet, but if it is sent to protect SG-1, it could give them enough time to complete their mission."

"Mister President, that is downright insane!" Kinsey exclaimed. "We need to attack Anubis now, hit him with everything we've got before he starts targeting our cities. This Lost City story is a crock of bull. SG-1 is just--"

"Bob, shut the hell up!" Hayes yelled. Everyone in the room, as well as Hammond in his office, fell into a stunned silence.

"Excuse me?" Kinsey sputtered.

"You heard me. I've had enough of your crap about SG-1." The president turned back to the speakerphone. "Tell Prometheus to launch, George, with orders to protect SG-1 at all costs."

"Yes, sir!" Hammond said, hanging up.

Still angry at being humiliated like that, Kinsey nevertheless decided to play it cool. "Mister President, I believe it would be wise for us to get to the Alpha Site now, even if it does turn out that those three ships are all that Anubis sent. You can keep in contact through the Stargate, and--"

Hayes shook his head. "It's too late for that, Bob. This battle is going to take place, and we're going to be right here for it. All of our lives are depending on SG-1 now."

The fear of dying swept through Kinsey. "But, Mister President! There's no reason for us to--"

Hayes interrupted him again. "Face it, Bob. As much as you hate SG-1, you'd better pray that they don't live _down_ to your expectations, because your ass is on the line just like the rest of ours."

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Her'ak stood at the console. Behind him, Anubis sat in his throne.

"My lord, the advance attack ships have found a large force of what appears to be aquatic war vessels on one of the planet's oceans. They wish to know if it is a suitable target."

"Yes, that will do. Tell them to destroy it."

"Yes, my. . . . My lord! Sensors detected an Al'Kesh exiting hyperspace. The ship cloaked immediately upon exiting."

Anubis rose from his throne. "Find the ship's energy signature. Tell the advance force to suspend the attack on the planet. That ship must be found."

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The Al'Kesh carrying SG-1 and Bra'tac swooped down toward Earth. Its occupants had no idea if they had been detected coming out of hyperspace. If they were, it would only be a matter of time before Anubis found them and sent his forces after them.

"Head toward the coordinates where the Stargate was found," Jack ordered Teal'c.

Just then, Daniel came into the cockpit. He stepped up to the pilot's seat and touched Teal'c's shoulder. The Jaffa looked at him, then stood to allow Daniel to take the seat. The archeologist piloted the ship over the mountains and across a snowfield. He brought it to a stop a few hundred feet above the ice and snow. An intense beam of blue-white light descended from its belly and bit into the snow and ice beneath it, quickly melting through.

They'd been in that position for only a minute or so when Bra'tac announced, "Al'Kesh and gliders approach. We have been discovered."

"Crap!" Jack cursed. "Prometheus will never reach us before they do. We're going to have to take evasive action, try to stay in one piece until our forces get here." He looked down at Daniel. "Daniel, you'd better let Teal'c take the controls."

The archeologist made no move to leave the seat. Jack wasn't even sure Daniel had heard him.

"The ships still approach," Bra'tac announced. "They will be in firing range in thirty seconds."

"Daniel, you need to--"

Before Jack could finish his sentence, Daniel suddenly shut off the beam, turned the ship, and took off, heading straight for a range of mountains in the distance. Their altitude remained low, way too low to make it over the mountains that they were fast approaching.

"Daniel, what are you doing?" Sam asked.

Not answering, Daniel stayed on course. Moments before it seemed certain that the archeologist was going to kill them all, he altered course slightly to the right.

"Whoa!" Jack yelled as they shot between two peaks and into a labyrinth of mountains. Seconds later, the first wave of enemy ships arrived. Destructive bolts of energy streaked past them, impacting upon rocks and snow. With half a dozen death gliders on his tale, Daniel wove between the massive peaks surrounding them, skimming past some so closely that the wake from their passing blasted snow off the mountains. He never wavered, never hesitated, as if he intimately knew every inch of the terrain. Jack realized that, somehow, Daniel was using his paranormal abilities to map out the terrain in advance, seeing every crevasse, every dip and peak before they got there. And it was working.

"The bulk of Anubis' forces cannot follow us here!" Bra'tac shouted. "They would surely impact upon the mountains or each other."

Even as he spoke, Daniel suddenly aimed the ship straight at a mountainside. At the last possible second, he veered to the left and squeezed between two cliffs. Two of the gliders chasing them failed to make the maneuver and crashed into the mountain, exploding on impact.

"Yes!" Jack cried. "Way to go, Daniel!"

The chase continued, enemy gliders and Al'Kesh attempting to follow and shoot them down. The fact that they were cloaked meant that the enemy had to rely solely on sensors to detect them, which was an added advantage. But, even with the cloak and Daniel's amazing piloting skills, there were so many attacking ships that his companions knew it was only a matter of time before they were hit.

And then something else happened to change the odds even more. Half a dozen gliders converged on them from different directions. It was a trap that they couldn't possibly escape from . . . and yet they did. Even as the gliders swooped and fired at them, Daniel was already taking evasive action, somehow dodging gliders and weapons fire before they were there.

"He knows what they do before they do it!" Teal'c cried.

Struck dumb with amazement, the others knew that Teal'c was right. Just as he had when he fought Har'tec, Daniel was predicting the moves of his enemy before they were made.

"Holy Hannah!" Sam said, her face alight with wonder.

A moment later, they ran out of luck. A stray shot from an Al'Kesh struck them. The ship jolted violently, sparks flying through the air.

"The cloaking device has been damaged," Bra'tac said. "It is failing."

At that moment, Daniel made a maneuver that, if it hadn't been for the inertial dampeners, would have smeared them all over the front window. As it was, Jack felt his stomach do a loop-de-loop. The archeologist had abruptly decelerated, then dived straight down into a wide cleft between mountains. The ships following them had no hope of duplicating the unexpected maneuver and shot past, some smashing into mountains as they tried to change course to stay on their target's tail.

Inside the cleft, Daniel made a complete one hundred eighty degree turn and headed back the way they came, shooting up out of the cleft like a rocket. He barely managed to avoid several more ships that had been taken by surprise, shooting down two of them before streaking past. The sudden change in directions had all the enemy ships scrambling to turn around.

Dozens of enemy ships still after them, Daniel took the Al'Kesh out of the mountains.

"O'Neill, there are more ships approaching from the distance," Bra'tac announced.

"Oh, shit! We're about to get our ass--"

"They are not Goa'uld."

Jack, Sam and Teal'c all looked out the side window to see the Prometheus and dozens of F-302's.

"Yes! The cavalry is here!" Jack shouted.

Onboard the Prometheus, Colonel Pendergast stared at the force of Goa'uld ships ahead of them. A large group of gliders and Al'Kesh were speeding above a snowfield. Strangely, the Al'Kesh in the lead was occasionally winking out of sight. Realizing what that meant, he broadcast over the communications channel, "The Al'Kesh in the lead is SG-1. Do _not_ fire upon it. That ship is to be protected at all costs!"

Moments later, the battle began, Earth's forces fighting fiercely against the enemies seeking to destroy their world. The air was suddenly alive with weapons fire and exploding ships. Amidst it all, a single Al'Kesh had come to a complete stop over a circular hole in the ice. Once again, the bright beam of light descended from the underside of the ship to resume digging.

Daniel got up and left the cockpit. Bra'tac moved into the vacated seat as Teal'c stepped up to the tactical station. Sam followed Daniel.

At that moment, the huge bulk of Prometheus came down to hover over them like a mother bird protecting her chick.

"SG-1, this is Colonel Pendergast, do you read?"

"Yes, we sure do," Jack answered. "It's good to see you, Lionel. You got here just in the nick of time."

As the battle continued to wage above them, SG-1 sat and waited for the modified matter stream to cut through the mile of ice, only the mighty ship hovering above them preventing them from being destroyed.

"O'Neill!" Teal'c called out. "An Al'Kesh is bearing down upon us!"

Jack looked out the window to see a ship coming right at them. Seconds before it would have opened fire, a damaged F-302, smoke billowing from one of its engines, took it out.

"Whoa. That was close," Jack muttered, saying a silent thank you to that courageous pilot and hoping that he got to safety.

"Colonel! Teal'c! We've got to go!" Sam called out. Jack and Teal'c joined her and Daniel at the ring platform. The archeologist was moving the remains of his modifications away from the transport rings. He and Sam were already dressed in their vests and jackets. Jack and Teal'c quickly put theirs on.

"Daniel, how are we gonna get down there?" Jack asked.

Teal'c scanned the floor. "The rings."

Sam nodded in agreement. "The Ancients built both the Stargate and the rings, so it would make sense that there would be a ring platform down there somewhere, just like there was on Taonas. The transmission beam just couldn't penetrate a mile of ice."

Jack, Sam and Teal'c armed themselves as Daniel finished clearing everything away from the rings. They all stepped into the center of the platform.

"Ready, Bra'tac!" Jack called.

"Good luck!" they heard the man call back.

An instant later, the rings leapt up around them, and they were beamed down. They found themselves in a small chamber. There was an opening off to one side, which Daniel went through, the others following. The chamber they entered looked somewhat like the one on Praclarush Taonas.

"This looks vaguely familiar," Sam said.

Daniel moved to an object standing against one wall. It contained a large niche, as if something was supposed to be placed inside. He laid a hand upon it.

"Dormata," he murmured.

"Anyone know what that means?" Jack asked.

"No, s--"

Sam's voice was cut off by a high-pitched noise. They stepped to the right and saw Anubis standing a few feet away. Jack and Sam instantly raised their P-90's and pointed them at the figure.

"You are too late. The power of the Ancients is mine," the Goa'uld announced.

Daniel stared at Anubis for a moment, then walked forward, going right through him. The archeologist kept on walking, not looking back.

"Fools!" shouted the cloaked figure. It then disappeared.

"It's a hologram," Sam said.

Daniel stepped onto the dais holding a chair exactly like the one on Taonas. He knelt and held his hand over a section of the floor. A device similar to the one they'd taken from the other place rose out of the dais, except that this one appeared to be dead, without power. Daniel removed it. Sam took the module they'd gotten at Taonas out of the bag she carried on her hip and gave it to him.

At that moment, SG-1 heard the rings activate. Jack, Sam and Teal'c all took cover. Two supersoldiers appeared. The three members of SG-1 immediately opened fire on them. They succeeded in taking one of the drones down.

Seemingly oblivious to the action, Daniel inserted the new power module into the hole. The dais lit up. With Sam, Jack and Teal'c trying to hold off the drone as best as they could, the archeologist went to the chair. As two more drones ringed down and started shooting, he sat down. Using the control pad, he made the chair recline and swiveling around to face away from the action.

Jack called over his shoulder, "Daniel, whatever it is you're gonna do, you'd better hurry up and do it!"

At that moment, a brilliant light bathed Daniel in its radiance. His eyes slid shut. A low rumbling echoed through the chamber as a part of the floor between SG-1 and the remaining drone crumbled away, a golden light shining up from the newly formed hole. In the next second, a stream of brightly glowing objects poured upward from the hole. Some of the objects attacked the supersoldier, enveloping it. Seconds later, it vanished.

The weapons of the Ancients shot up through the shaft created by the matter stream and out into the open air. Every Goa'uld vessel they encountered was instantly destroyed. Up they rose, a golden column of destruction aiming straight toward the Goa'uld fleet in orbit around Earth.

Prometheus, its shields down and weapons expended, was on a collision course with Anubis' mothership, its crew determined to take out the ship no matter what. The glowing stream came upon the Earth ship and diverted around it harmlessly, writhing arms splitting off from the main flow like the tentacles of an octopus. They attacked the Goa'uld ships ruthlessly, slicing through shields and bulkheads as if through tissue paper.

Onboard the Prometheus, Major Gant cried, "Weapons fire coming from the surface, sir!"

"Break off the attack," Colonel Pendergast responded. "Get us clear of that ship."

Prometheus changed course and flew under the mothership, which was being decimated by the alien weapon.

On Anubis' ship, Her'ak called out, "Our shields are of no use!"

Anubis watched helplessly as his fleet was wiped out. He raised a hand protectively as several of the Ancients' weapons headed straight toward the window.

"Noooo!" he roared.

Seconds later, in a cataclysmic explosion, Anubis' mighty ship ripped apart.

Down on Earth, the president in the oval office and everyone in the control room at the SGC listened to the report from an excited witness.

"Thousands of bright yellow . . . I don't know. . . . They're coming from the surface. I don't know what they are. They're cutting the enemy fleet to shreds. My God, it's beautiful!"

"Sir, what is it?" a technician asked Hammond.

A smile of satisfaction and pride beamed across the general's face. "That is SG-1. By God, they did it!"

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Not knowing exactly what was happening in the skies above them, but having gotten a brief report from Bra'tac that the weapons Daniel unleashed were destroying the Goa'uld ships, SG-1 waited in the chamber, still alert for any threat. Just then, the bright light around the chair went out. Jack, Sam and Teal'c turned to it and saw that Daniel appeared to be unconscious.

"Daniel!" Sam hurried forward, followed by Jack and Teal'c. Frantically, she checked his pulse.

"His pulse is erratic," she said over her shoulder to the others. She then turned back to Daniel. "Don't you dare leave us now, Daniel. We won. You did it. We're safe."

The archeologist's eyes fluttered open and met Sam's. He whispered something that she could not hear.

"Daniel?" Sam said in a scared voice.

Finding the strength from somewhere, Daniel struggled upwards. Jack and Teal'c hurried forward and helped him out of the chair. They'd just gotten him off the dais when he went limp in their grasp. They lowered him to the floor. Sam rushed to his side and took his hand, looking into eyes that were now glazed and distant.

"No, Daniel. Don't do this," Sam begged, starting to cry. "Please."

"Sam," Daniel said in a breathy whisper. He uttered words in Ancient that she could barely hear.

"Daniel, what are you saying? What can we do?" she asked in desperation.

But Daniel did not answer. As Sam watched helplessly, his eyes slid shut. A soft sigh slipped from his lips, and then he was still, his body going limp with cruel and terrible finality.

"No," Sam whispered brokenly. "No."

_'Oh God, no,'_ Jack's mind cried in silent denial as his questing fingers searched for a pulse and found none.

Her heart shattered and numb with grief, Sam gathered the body of her best friend into her arms, deep sobs shuddering through her. She pressed her tear-streaked face against his and closed her eyes against the terrible pain. Beside her, Jack sunk to the floor as anguish overwhelmed him, making him feel cold, empty and broken inside.

Tears welled up into Teal'c's eyes as he looked down upon the body of a man who had become one of the best friends he'd ever had, a man who had yet again given his life to save them all. But, unlike before, no alien entity came to take him away, no bright light heralded the transformation of his body into another form of life. Daniel Jackson was truly dead this time, and nothing was going to bring him back.

Jack abruptly lurched to his feet and strode away, the pain eating him alive. Oh, God, this can't be happening. Daniel can't be dead. They were all supposed to be celebrating the defeat of Anubis and the salvation of Earth. Thor was supposed to have come to the rescue at the last minute, like he did so many times in the past, and fix everything. But, this time, there was no last minute rescue, no happy ending. Earth had been saved, but at the cost of the finest man and best friend Jack had ever known.

Bra'tac's voice came over the radios. "O'Neill, Anubis' forces have been defeated!"

Jack closed his eyes. He reached for his radio. "We know, Bra'tac. We know. Daniel--" His voice broke off. He took a deep breath. He just couldn't tell the Master Jaffa over the radio. "Come pick us up."

Jack turned around and walked back to the others. "Teal'c, we need to . . ." His voice wavered and cracked, "we need to take him home."

The Jaffa nodded. He knelt across from Sam. "Major Carter, it is time to take Daniel Jackson home." With utmost gentleness, he took Daniel out of Sam's grasp. Gathering the still, limp body into his arms, he stood and walked toward the ring platform. Jack went up to Sam and helped her off the floor. The two of them joined the Jaffa.

"Ring us up, Bra'tac," Jack said into his radio.

A moment later, they were on the Al'Kesh. The Master Jaffa's grin instantly vanished upon seeing Daniel and the anguish on everyone's faces. He knew without asking that the archeologist was dead.

Teal'c carried Daniel's body into the bedchamber that had once belonged to Osiris. He laid the archeologist down on the bed and turned away.

As the three men left, Sam sat on the bed and brushed her hand through Daniel's hair, tears pouring steadily down her cheeks. For long minutes, she sat there, wishing with all her heart that Oma would come once again and help Daniel ascend. But Oma never came.

As last, Sam left the room, her soul crying for the man who had been her best friend.

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General Hammond was just about to make a base-wide announcement that the Goa'uld fleet had been destroyed when Jack O'Neill's voice came over the speakers.

"Colonel O'Neill! Congratulations!" Hammond exclaimed. "You and the rest of SG-1 have once again saved the planet. How is Doctor Jackson doing?"

There was a long silence. "Daniel . . . Daniel's dead, sir."

The control room went utterly still, gasps arising from several people.

"He did it, General," Jack continued, his voice heavy with sorrow. "He saved us all. The weapon, getting us back in time, everything. It was all him. He sacrificed himself for us."

In the control room, more than one person had begun to cry. General Hammond's eyes stung with tears that he could not allow to fall.

In a voice full of terrible sadness, he said, "Bring him home, Jack."

"Yes, sir."

General Hammond closed his eyes for a long moment, taking a deep breath. Shoving his sorrow deep inside for the moment, he told a technician to turn on the base P.A. system.

"I have an announcement to make, everyone. Thanks to the heroic efforts of Doctor Jackson and the rest of SG-1, the forces of Anubis have been destroyed."

Throughout the base, a cheer arose at the fantastic news. Everyone quieted as Hammond continued speaking.

"I am afraid, though, that I have some sad news. Doctor Jackson is dead. It was through his actions that Earth was saved. He gave his life for all of us, and every man, woman and child on this planet owes him a debt that we will never be able to repay."

In her office, Janet sunk slowly into her chair, tears pouring down her cheeks. With a little sob, she lowered her face into her hands and cried for her lost, dearly loved friend.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

A cloak of silence descended upon the corridors of the SGC as a gurney was wheeled by with a sheet-covered body upon it. On either side of the gurney, like an honor guard for a fallen hero, walked Bra'tac and the surviving members of SG-1. The looks on their faces reflected the grief they were feeling, even on the two Jaffa.

The group descended to Level 21, but it did not go to the infirmary. Instead, it went to a cold and sterile room where, years ago, Sha're's body was brought to await the journey home for her final rest. Now, it would contain the body of her husband until he, too, was laid to rest.

For the longest time after the corpsman that pushed the gurney had left, SG-1 stood unmoving in their positions around Daniel's body. Bra'tac, too, had left, knowing that Jack, Sam and Teal'c needed this final time alone with their friend.

More than once, Jack's hand had reached for the sheet that covered Daniel's head, but, each time, it fell back to his side. He just couldn't bear to yet again see his best friend's pale and lifeless face. He looked at Sam. Her tear-filled eyes were fixed upon Daniel. She hadn't stopped crying since his death. The terrible anguish on her face was heartbreaking.

As for Teal'c, Jack could remember only two other times that he'd seen as much grief on the Jaffa's face: when they had come upon the wreckage of Teal'c's home on Chulak, the Jaffa believing that his wife and son had perished, and when Shan'auc, the Jaffa priestess that Teal'c had loved, died.

At last, Jack knew that it was time to leave. He gently wrapped an arm around Sam's shoulders and led her outside as Teal'c followed.

"Sam, do you want some . . . some company?" Jack asked.

"No," she whispered. "I need to be alone right now."

Jack didn't say anything more. He, too, desperately needed to be alone, for the emotions were building inside him, and he couldn't let anyone witness it when they finally exploded.

The three remaining members of SG-1 went their separate ways. Teal'c retired to his quarters. One by one, he lit the candles that he used for Kel'no'reem, then sat upon the floor. But the Jaffa did not attempt Kel'no'reem, for he knew that he would fail. Instead, he closed his eyes and remembered. He remembered the first time Daniel Jackson spoke to him. In the huge chamber containing all the humans who had been gathered as possible hosts, the archeologist had approached him without fear and showed him the symbol for Earth. He remembered the moment when Daniel looked upon him with eyes full of a willingness to forgive the crime he had committed against the archeologist's family. He recalled the day that Daniel stood before the people who were putting Teal'c on trial for his life, the impassioned plea the linguist had given to all assembled, asking that they spare the Jaffa. Into Teal'c's mind came the memory of the joy he'd felt upon seeing Daniel alive and well after SG-1 destroyed the ships Apophis had sent to attack Earth.

Moments of happiness and sorrow, pain and pleasure passed through Teal'c's mind, six years shared with a man of unswerving courage and unfailing compassion and one year spent missing his presence. Daniel Jackson had been like no other man that Teal'c had ever met, and he knew that there would forever be a place in his heart that would remain empty without him.

--------------------------------------------------

Jack closed the door of his office and locked it. He looked up at the security camera in the corner. Grabbing a chair, he climbed up onto it and covered the lens with a handkerchief. He wanted no prying eyes upon him. Jack then sank into the chair behind his desk. The minutes ticked by as he stared with unseeing eyes at a spot on the wall across the room. He felt so empty, shattered, like a broken bottle drained of its contents.

Jack pulled an object out of his pocket. It was Daniel's glasses. He gently touched them with his fingertips, thinking how horribly wrong it was that his friend would never again wear them.

It was then that something snapped inside Jack. Rage erupted within him with violent force. With a sweep of his arm, half the things on his desk went flying. He flung himself out of his chair and strode over to the next thing he laid eyes upon. The books on the shelf joined the mess on the floor. Jack smashed a fist against the wall, venting his rage upon its unfeeling surface.

As quickly as the rage came, it ended. Overwhelmed with grief, Jack rested his forehead against the wall, clenched fists on either side of his face.

"Damn you, Daniel," he whispered raggedly. "Damn you. You not supposed to be dead. You're supposed to come back. You _always_ come back."

Jack sank to the floor, his sobs finally breaking free. Wrapping his arms around himself, Colonel Jack O'Neill cried for the loss of the best friend he could ever hope to have.

--------------------------------------------------

In Daniel's office, Sam lay curled into a tight ball on the cot. The tears kept coming and coming, the pain so awful that it felt like her heart was physically being ripped apart, her mind filled with the horrible knowledge that she'd never see Daniel again. Never again would she gaze into his beautiful eyes or see that wonderful smile that always lightened her spirit. Never again would she share a meal or a cup of coffee with the best friend she'd ever had.

Yet again, death had taken away someone Sam loved, but, this time, the theft was almost unbearable, and she knew that, when they buried Daniel, a huge part of her heart would be buried with him.

--------------------------------------------------

It had been almost four hours hours since Daniel's body was brought home, and, in all that time, Janet had been unable to set foot in the room where he lay. She knew that a time would come when she could not put it off any longer, but just the thought of seeing Daniel's lifeless body was almost too much to bear. A part of Janet berated her for this weakness. She was a doctor, after all, a woman who dealt with death on a regular basis. But death was so much more brutal and hard to face when it happened to someone you loved.

More than once, Janet had watched Daniel die. Most of those "deaths" were only momentary, brief minutes when his heart had been silent and she had fought to bring it back to life. Once, it had been more than that, a true death that had turned out not to be death at all because of an event that Janet still believed was a miracle. Seeing Daniel ascend had been one of the most beautiful things she'd ever witnessed, even though it also tore her apart.

But death had finally taken Daniel and was not giving him back. No medical actions could restore him, no ancient entity was going to guide him to another plane of existence. Daniel really was gone this time, and Janet had to learn to accept it.

Finally, the doctor stood. She left her office and passed through the infirmary. Some of the nurses were crying openly, others on the verge of tears. Daniel had been a favorite of the nursing staff, alternately bringing out the mothering instinct in them and lighting the flame of their feminine desires.

As Janet continued the journey to the morgue, she thought about the task that would soon have to be undertaken. Just the thought of it made her ill, but she knew that an autopsy would have to be done. She also knew, however, that she would not be the one to do it. It would just about destroy her to violate Daniel's body like that.

Janet paused outside the morgue for a long moment, her feet not wanting to carry her forward. Drawing in a deep breath, she took the final step and opened the door. She froze again upon seeing the sheet-draped body lying upon the gurney.

Forcing herself to move forward, Janet came to a halt at the gurney. She stared down at the sheet covering Daniel for a very long time, trying to find the courage to pull it back. At last, her hand rose and lifted it aside. A little gasp caught in her throat as Daniel's chalk-white face was revealed. Janet pressed her hand to her mouth, holding back a sob. But she could not stop the tears that began streaming down her face.

"Oh, Daniel," she whispered.

With a shuddery sigh, Janet touched her friend's cheek, feeling the warm skin, the scratchy texture of unshaven whiskers as she remembered all the times she'd touched his face when he was sick or injured in her infirmary.

Janet's eyes closed tightly. God, this was even harder than she'd thought it would be. She needed to get out of here, to. . . .

Warm?

Janet's eyes snapped open, and she stared down at Daniel. She touched his face again and found that his skin was, indeed, warm, equally as warm as that of a live, healthy body.

_'Okay, Janet, calm down. So his skin is warm. That doesn't mean anything. Though a body usually starts to cool one to two hours after death, it can sometimes take three, and there have been some studies that claim it can take up to five.' _

Despite that thought, Janet's heart rate refused to slow down, and there was this tight, quivery feeling in the pit of her stomach. She decided to check something else and found that rigor mortis had not begun to set in.

_'No rigor mortis even though it's been over four hours, most of that time spent at room temperature.'_ Janet mentally shook her head. _'But you know that this doesn't really mean anything either. There could be all kinds of explanations for it.'_ The doctor gazed at Daniel's face. _'He's dead, Janet,'_ she told herself. _'The corpsman confirmed it. No pulse, no respiration. Stop torturing yourself by building up ridiculous, false hopes.' _

Despite the self-chastisement, Janet's hand reached into her pocket and pulled out the penlight that was universally hated by all her patients. She stared at it for a few seconds before leaning forward and lifting one of Daniel's eyelids. The doctor shone the light directly into the vacantly staring eye. Shocked, she watched as, very slowly, the pupil contracted.

"Oh my God!" Janet cried. The penlight clattered to the floor as the doctor's hand dove for Daniel's neck. She placed her fingers over the carotid artery. It was still, unmoving. But Janet did not give up. She kept her fingers there, eyes closed in concentration, silently counting off the seconds. Nearly thirty seconds had passed when she felt a faint flutter beneath her fingertips. She remained in that position, continuing to count. Thirty-five seconds later, she felt it again.

Janet's gaze flew to Daniel's face for a long, stunned moment, then she was dashing to the phone. "I need a medical team in the morgue! Stat!" she yelled in the receiver. Hanging it up, she ran back to Daniel's side. "My God, Daniel, you've done it again! I can't believe it!"

The medical team came hurrying in a few moments later, looking around for their patient, but the room was empty except for Janet and the body of Doctor Jackson. The physician pointed at Daniel.

"We have to get him to the infirmary! He's alive!"

The others looked at the archeologist, who still appeared to be very dead.

"What are you waiting for, dammit?" Janet snapped. "Come on!"

The doctor grabbed the end of the gurney and started pushing it toward the door. Finally snapping out of their daze, the team leapt forward, two of them grabbing either side of the gurney. They rushed it down the hall, nearly bowling over a couple of hapless airmen.

Once they got to the infirmary, Janet began snapping out orders. Daniel was hooked up to a life signs monitor. When a flat line began tracing over the screen, all those gathered around looked at each other, then at their C.M.O., who had apparently lost her mind.

"Wait for it," she said, paying no attention to the looks.

Out of respect for the doctor, they kept watching the screen--and were all shocked when a single blip showed on it about fifteen seconds later. Mouths dropping open, they kept watching and saw another blip a bit over half a minute later. Beyond all hope or reason, Daniel Jackson was alive.

"I want his respiration and blood pressure taken," Janet ordered. "I also want a complete blood work-up. And we need an EEG over here. I have to call the general and SG-1!"

--------------------------------------------------

Jack had been sitting slumped in his chair for about an hour now. The only reason why he'd left the floor was that parts of him had gone numb. He felt drained of all energy and had no will to move from the chair.

A persistent ringing worked its way into Jack's consciousness. Realizing that it was the phone, he chose to ignore it, having no desire to speak to anyone. When the phone just kept right on ringing, Jack finally answered it, figuring that it might be the general.

"O'Neill," he said.

"Sir! It's Doctor Fraiser! You have to come to the infirmary right away. It's unbelievable! I can't--"

Jack interrupted the doctor's excited babble. "Doc, what are you babbling about?"

"Daniel, sir! He's alive!"

Anything else Janet might have said would have been spoken to empty air, for Jack was no longer there. He'd dropped the phone and streaked out of his office. Bypassing the elevator, the colonel went to the stairs, taking the steps two and three at a time. He skidded into the infirmary and came to a screeching halt. Not seeing Janet or Daniel, he made a beeline for the ICU. And there he saw it. In the corner, surrounded by a hive of nurses who were buzzing around him like bees, was Daniel. Jack slowly approached the group, afraid that he was dreaming it all. Just then, Janet appeared.

"Colonel! It's incredible. I couldn't believe it when I realized what was happening."

"What _is_ happening?" Jack asked.

"Come here."

Janet led Jack to Daniel's bed. The colonel's gaze fixed upon his friend's face. Pale and unmoving, he still looked dead to Jack's eyes.

"Watch the monitor," Janet told him.

Jack dragged his eyes away from Daniel and looked at the monitor. It was not the first time that he'd seen a flat line in place of Daniel's heartbeat, but he had hoped he would never see it again. Even as he had that thought, though, there was a disturbance in the line, a single beat.

"What the. . . ." Jack kept watching, wondering if he'd imagined it. Way too many seconds later he saw it again. Stunned, Jack returned his gaze to Daniel.

"His heart is beating roughly two times per minute," Janet explained. "His respiration is almost negligible, but it is there. But what's most important of all is that." She pointed at another monitor.

Jack looked at the wavy line. "What is it?"

"It's his EEG, sir, his brainwave pattern. It is extremely slow, way down into the lowest delta frequencies, but it proves that Daniel's brain is alive!"

"You mean that he's done it again? He's come back to life?"

Janet shook her head. "I don't think so, sir. I don't think that Daniel died at all. It's just that his pulse and respiration are so slow and faint that they're almost impossible to detect, except with machines. Even if I'd used a stethoscope, I probably would have missed it, unless I happened to be listening at exactly the right moment."

Jack shook his head in amazement and growing joy, realizing that, yet again, Daniel had somehow beaten the Grim Reaper. A huge smile lit his face. _'Yes, yes, __**yes**__! I should have __**known**__ I was right. Daniel just can't stay dead.' _

"Sir, I tried to find Sam," Janet told him. "She's not in her lab or her quarters, and she hasn't left the base."

"Did you try Daniel's office?"

"Yes, I called but got no answer. I was going to send someone over there."

"I'll go. Call Teal'c. You'll no doubt find him in his quarters. Have you contacted Hammond yet?"

"No, sir. I thought it only right to tell you, Sam and Teal'c first."

Jack left the infirmary and went to Daniel's office. When he saw that the door was closed, he knew that Sam was there. He found her curled into a tight ball on the cot, clutching what appeared to be one of Daniel's spare BDU jackets. Traces of tears marred her face, her nose red from hours of crying. Her eyes were closed, and Jack didn't know if she was asleep.

The colonel came up to his 2IC and knelt beside the cot. "Carter?"

Sam's eyelids opened, revealing bloodshot, pain-filled eyes.

"Sam, listen to me. None of us know yet why or how it's possible, but Daniel is not dead. He's alive."

Sam blinked a few times. "W-w-what?"

"He did it again. That stubborn, pain-in-the-ass archeologist is alive!"

Hope flared inside Sam's eyes. She sat up quickly, finding it hard to believe, but desperately wanting to. "Alive?"

Jack smiled at her, an honest to goodness, ear-to-ear grin. "Yes!"

Sam threw her arms around Jack's neck and hugged him so tightly that he felt in danger of strangulation. Then she was off the cot and running out the door. Still smiling, Jack followed her.

Teal'c was already there when Sam and Jack arrived in the ICU. There was a look of wonder on the Jaffa's face.

"Daniel Jackson is truly alive, O'Neill," he said.

Sam went up to the bed. She frowned upon seeing the EKG, but then she saw the EEG, proof that Daniel's brain was active.

"How can he be alive without a heart beat?"

"Ah, but he _does_ have one," Jack said. "Watch."

Sam returned her gaze to the monitor. Several seconds later, she saw it. Her mouth fell open. Around half a minute later, there it was again.

"My God," the astrophysicist whispered.

Janet came into the room. "Sam! I'm so glad that the colonel found you." The doctor came up and gave her friend a tight hug.

"How is this possible?" Sam asked her.

"I can't say for sure, but I have some theories."

Just then, General Hammond came in. He, too, looked a bit stunned. He stared down at Daniel. "This is incredible."

Jack grinned. "You can say that again, sir. But, considering that this is Daniel, I guess none of us should be surprised. Staying dead isn't something he seems capable of doing."

Sam turned back to Janet. "You were saying that you have some theories?"

The doctor nodded. "Do any of you know what tetrodotoxin is?"

"Isn't that the poison from puffer fish?" Sam asked.

"Yes. It's also found in several other animals. It is a neurotoxin that kills primarily by paralyzing the respiratory system. There have been cases of people with tetrodotoxin poisoning being declared dead because their pulse and respiration were so low as to be almost undetectable. It's one of the things in the zombie powder used by people who practice voodoo."

"You think that something like that has happened to Daniel?" Jack asked.

The doctor shook her head no. "For one thing, since the poison does not cross the blood-brain barrier, victims often remain fully conscious throughout the whole ordeal, but can't move in any way because of the complete paralysis."

"Oh my God," Sam gasped. "Daniel may have been conscious all this time? In the morgue, thinking that he was going to be--" Her voice choked off as she imagined the horror of being fully conscious and knowing that you were going to be autopsied while still alive.

Janet touched her arm. "No, Sam. I don't think that Daniel is conscious. As slow as his brainwave pattern is, it's very unlikely. The point that I was making is that tetrodotoxin does prove that the human body can be placed in a death-like state, yet still survive. The thing is, though, that victims of tetrodotoxin poisoning can suffer brain damage due to insufficient oxygen flow to the brain. I have not run any kind of scans on Daniel to check for brain damage yet, but I have a feeling there isn't any. What I believe is happening here is that he is in some kind of suspended animation, like an extreme form of hibernation. In hibernation, activity in the body's cells slows to a near standstill, dramatically cutting the need for oxygen. Studies have shown that the heart of a hibernating black bear can beat as slowly as eight times a minute, and there are animals in the rodent family that have heartbeats far lower than that during hibernation. One big difference with Daniel's condition, though, is that, during hibernation, body temperature drops. His is normal, which is a darn good thing since that's how I discovered that he was alive."

"Okay, so why?" Jack asked. "Why is he like this?"

"Maybe it's the only way that he could survive," Sam suggested. "The download was killing him, overwhelming his brain. Maybe Daniel's body went into stasis to stay alive."

"Do you think he did this on purpose?"

"That's hard to say," Janet replied. "It could have been done consciously or it could have been a case of his subconscious mind taking over and doing what needed to be done."

"Dormata," Sam murmured. She looked at the others. "There was this thing in the chamber in Antarctica that Daniel looked at. He said, 'Dormata', which sounds a lot like the word 'dormant', referring to something in a deep sleep. Thinking about it now, that thing Daniel looked at was a little bit like the stasis pods on the Stromos. I wonder if we were supposed to put him in it, but when he collapsed too soon and couldn't tell us what to do, he went into his own form of stasis."

"Okay, here's a question," Jack said. "How do we wake him up?"

"I'm afraid that I have no idea," Janet admitted, "and I'm not even sure we should try. If this stasis is keeping Daniel alive, rousing him could kill him."

"So, we just wait and hope that he comes out of it himself?" Sam asked.

"For right now, I think that's the wisest course of action. We will keep monitoring all of his life signs and occasionally run scans and certain tests to make sure that his condition is not deteriorating."

Hammond nodded. "Very well, Doctor. Please keep me informed. I need to contact the president and give him the good news." He looked at the three teammates. "You all look like you could use some sleep and probably something to eat as well. I think it would be a good idea to go do that."

"I agree," said Janet.

The general left before the objections began.

"Janet, I can't leave now," Sam insisted. "Daniel's alive! Do you have any idea how that makes me feel? I don't want to leave him."

"Ditto for me," Jack stated firmly. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I, too, do not wish to leave Daniel Jackson's side," Teal'c said.

Janet looked at the stubborn countenance of the three people and sighed. She really couldn't blame them for the way they felt. She kept wanting to run over to Daniel and touch him just to make sure this whole thing wasn't a figment of her imagination.

"All right. I've been considering putting Daniel in an isolation room so that he is disturbed as little as possible. There's enough room that you could set up cots."

Jack nodded sharply. "Works for me."

--------------------------------------------------

President Hayes stepped into the room where the vice president's aide sat.

"Mister President!" she exclaimed in surprise, not having expected this visit.

Hayes nodded. "Good afternoon, Sara. Is he in?"

"Yes, sir. He was not expecting you."

The president smiled. "Yes, I know." He went to the door and opened it without knocking. Kinsey was sitting at his desk, lounging back in his chair, a pleased, almost smug expression on his face. Upon seeing his visitor, the expression disappeared, and he sat up straight.

"Mister President. I didn't get a call that you wished to see me. I'd have come to your office."

"That's okay, Bob. This time, I decided to come see _you_." He sat in one of the chairs. "Quite a day, wasn't it."

"Yes, it was, a victorious day, I must say."

"I agree, and we have SG-1 to thank for it."

Kinsey frowned. "Don't forget that it was because of SG-1 that we were put in danger in the first place. It was only right that they fix the problem they created." The frown faded. "However, I am willing to admit that they did a good job of getting rid of Anubis." His lips curved into an expression of satisfaction. "The threat has been eliminated."

Hayes had to wonder if the man was only thinking about Anubis or also about the elimination of the threat Daniel Jackson had posed to him. The president smiled inwardly. Oh, this was going to be so sweet.

"Yes, the threat of Anubis is gone, very good news for us all. And guess what. I have still more good news. It turns out that Doctor Jackson isn't dead after all."

The look of satisfaction instantly vanished from Kinsey's face. "What?! B-but how is that possible?"

"Well, it seems that he actually put himself into some kind of suspended animation, most likely to save his own life since the download of that Ancients' knowledge was killing him. It may be only a matter of time before he awakens, hopefully good as new."

Kinsey's mouth opened and closed several times, as if he was struggling for words.

"What's the matter, Bob? You don't look all that pleased that the man who saved the entire planet is alive."

The vice president finally found his voice. "I-I. . . . Of course I'm pleased, sir. I was just very surprised. It seems that Doctor Jackson has a knack for surviving against all odds."

Hayes grinned broadly. "Yes, he does, doesn't he. The man puts the survival skills of a cat to shame. Well, I just wanted to pass on the good news. I'll be heading on back to my office now."

The president left the office, still grinning. As he strolled down the hall, he began to whistle. Yep, today was a very good day indeed.

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Jack, Sam and Teal'c all made themselves as comfortable as possible in the isolation room that now held their teammate. During the hours that followed, at least one of them was there at all times, with the exception of the hour that was spent debriefing. Every time Sam was there at Daniel's bedside, she couldn't stop herself from devouring his face with her eyes, her hands constantly touching him. She would spend long minutes watching the life signs monitor for that occasional blip that proved that her best friend was really alive. She had cried several times, this time with joy, though she wouldn't be truly happy until Daniel emerged from his state of suspended animation. Scans of Daniel's brain had showed no signs of damage, but Janet couldn't be sure what effect this whole thing would have on his mind.

Attempts to reach Thor had continued. Everyone had reasoned that, if the Asgard could remove the Ancient knowledge from Daniel, he could be safely aroused from the stasis.

Bra'tac had returned to Chulak, delighted that Daniel was alive. The knowledge that it had been he alone who controlled the weapons of the Ancients was something the Master Jaffa would not be sharing with anyone. The chances that the Goa'uld would find out were too great. He did, however, have every intention of passing on the news that "Dan'yar" had been instrumental in the destruction of Anubis.

As for the Lost City, it was still lost. The team that was immediately sent to the place SG-1 found in Antarctica discovered that it was far too small to have been a city. They determined that it had been some kind of outpost or base. Even so, it was an exciting discovery, and perhaps it would lead them to the real Lost City.

The rest of the day and the night passed with Daniel showing no sign of awakening. The good news was that his physical condition was not worsening, the periodic scans and tests showing no changes in his body or his brain.

Daniel's teammates were not the only company he had that day and night. Quite a few people at the SGC dropped in at one time or another, some for only a couple of minutes, others, like Ferretti, for a couple of hours. The lieutenant colonel kept muttering about Daniel being some kind of immortal.

The morning of the second day passed uneventfully for SG-1. Their mission reports were turned into the general, who, after reading them, declared that they were the most amazing reports he'd ever read.

It was just before noon when Sam found herself alone with Daniel, Jack and Teal'c having gone to get something to eat. Her hand was resting upon the archeologist's as she read a novel that Janet had brought for her. She didn't know why, but she had begun to read it aloud, as if some part of her was hoping that Daniel could hear her

Sam had just reached a funny part of the story and was laughing aloud when something happened that almost sent her jumping out of the chair. She gasped and stood, the book falling to the floor, forgotten. Daniel's hand had just moved.

"Daniel?" Getting no response, Sam looked at the life signs monitor. What she saw sent her scurrying to the phone.

"Janet, I think Daniel's waking up!"


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Within seconds of Sam's call, Janet was in the isolation room. She looked at the monitor. Sure enough, the archeologist's heart rate had increased to about nine beats per minute, and his respiration had almost doubled. His brainwave frequency and blood pressure had also risen.

Over the next several minutes, Daniel's vital signs continued to climb slowly. He was also displaying occasional muscle movement, a hand or a foot sometimes twitching.

Jack and Teal'c came into the room.

"What's up?" the colonel asked upon seeing Janet and Sam both hovering over Daniel.

"We think he's waking up, sir," Sam replied.

The two men immediately came forward and saw for themselves what was happening.

"Daniel? Come on there, buddy. It's time to wake up," Jack said.

There was no response, but Daniel's heart rate did increase a little more.

For the next eight minutes, Janet and Daniel's teammates remained huddled around the bed as their friend's vital signs kept climbing toward a normal range. At last, he was in the equivalent of a deep sleep.

"Daniel? Can you hear us?" Sam asked, hoping for a response. She got one. Daniel's eyes opened. He blinked a couple of times, then stared at the people gathered around his bed.

"Um . . . hi," he said, as if he'd merely awakened from a nap and was a bit surprised to see everyone hovering over him.

Sam started laughing, tears of happiness filling her eyes.

Jack laughed, too. "'Hi', he says, like nothing of any significance happened. Daniel, being dead is not something you're supposed to take for granted, even when it turns out that you weren't really dead after all."

Daniel looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"Do you remember what happened?" Janet asked him.

The archeologist frowned. "Sort of. I remember the download, going to Praclarush Taonas, then coming back here and. . . . Oh."

"Oh? What does 'oh' mean?" Jack asked.

"You thought I was dead?"

"Well . . . yeah, that's sort of what a person usually assumes when no heartbeat or breathing is found to be present."

"Can you explain what happened?" Janet asked Daniel.

"My mind had been almost completely overwhelmed, and I knew that, if I didn't do something quickly, I'd probably die. I tried to make it to the stasis chamber, but I was too far gone. I knew that I could put myself in stasis using what I'd learned from the Ancients' knowledge and my abilities with biofeedback. I tried to tell you what I was doing, but I guess you didn't understand."

"Everything you said was in Ancient, Daniel," Sam explained.

"You died, Daniel," Jack said, "or we _thought_ you died."

"But you found out that I was alive when you got me back to the SGC?"

Janet shook her head. "No, Daniel. A corpsman checked your pulse when SG-1 got you back here. When he didn't find one, I didn't even consider checking any further."

The archeologist's eyes widened a little. "Then that means that you. . . ."

"You were sitting in the morgue, Daniel," Jack said bluntly.

"For close to four hours," Teal'c added.

"Thank God I didn't have you put in the refrigeration unit," Janet stated.

"Thank God you didn't do an _autopsy_!" Jack nearly shouted.

That's when the color drained from Daniel's face, making Jack regret opening his big mouth

"Oh, jeez, Daniel. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"No, you shouldn't," Janet agreed in a tone of censure. She turned to her patient. "That would not have happened, Daniel. As soon as the first cut for the Y-incision started to be made, the person doing the autopsy would have realized that something was going on when you began to bleed. He'd have stopped immediately."

Instead of soothing Daniel, the doctor's words made him feel a little sick, and with good reason! The thought of some guy with a scalpel bending over to. . . . Ugh!

Seeing the look on Daniel's face, Jack turned to Janet. "And you ball _me_ out for what _I_ said? I mean, could you be any more graphic? What you just said makes _me_ ill, and I wasn't the one it would have happened to!"

Janet bit her lip, realizing her mistake. "I'm sorry, Daniel. I wasn't thinking."

Daniel nodded, his gaze focused downward. When he'd placed himself in stasis, he hadn't considered that everyone would think he was dead.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, addressing all of them. "When I did it, I didn't consider that you might think I was dead."

"You haven't a damn thing to apologize for, Daniel," Jack told him. "You're alive. That's all that matters. Yes, you unintentionally put us all through over four hours of hell, but, considering that it's what kept you from dying for real, I have no problem with that."

"We're just so happy that you're alive," Sam told him.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.

The doctor looked around at the others standing around the bed. "Okay, everyone, out you go. I need to examine Daniel and make sure everything's working properly."

Sam gave the archeologist's hand a squeeze. "We'll be back later."

Janet gave Daniel a complete physical, checking pretty much everything that could possibly be checked. She paid extra attention to testing his neurological functions. At the end of it all, she found him to be in perfect health.

"Amazing," she said. "Well, Daniel, you have once again made medical history. If I could actually write a paper about you, it would be the talk of the entire medical profession."

"What a shame you can't publish," Daniel responded with mild sarcasm.

"Yes, isn't it?" The doctor then smiled.

"You know, what I did isn't really all that extraordinary, Janet. It has been proven that Tibetan monks and Indian yogis can dramatically slow their heart rate and respiration while meditating. There was a case of a yogi who meditated for fifty-six hours inside an airtight cubicle that was only five feet by five feet by eight feet, which isn't nearly big enough for a normal person to survive in for that long without a source of oxygen. Afterwards, they completely filled the cubicle with water, and the yogi remained in there for an additional seven hours. When he was taken out, his pulse, blood pressure, and respirations were all normal. There were no signs of stress at all."

"That may be so, Daniel, but what you did is still amazing to me."

Daniel ducked his head. "So, can I go now?" he asked after a moment.

"Tired of our hospitality already?"

"Pretty much. I've been staying at this hotel way too often lately."

Janet shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I am going to have to keep you a little longer, Daniel."

"But--" Daniel stopped when she held up a finger.

"Not all that long ago, you were in a physical state that was just about as close to being dead as it's possible to be without actually _being_ dead. I want to keep an eye on you for just a little longer. There's also another concern."

"What's that?"

"The knowledge of the Ancients was not removed from your brain like it was Colonel O'Neill's, Daniel, which means that it's still in there somewhere."

Daniel went silent for several seconds. "I know."

Janet stared at him closely. "Daniel, do you remember it all?"

"No, not consciously. It was just too much for me to keep it all in my conscious mind. Don't ask me how I did it, but, somehow, I managed to shove most of it away into my subconscious. It might be possible that I could dig some more of it out, but I'd almost be afraid to. I wouldn't want to start the whole process over again."

"I agree. So, what _do_ you remember?"

Daniel's gaze drifted off. "Images mostly, memories of worlds and life forms that we have yet to discover. It was all in there, Janet, every world they'd ever been to, every race they'd ever encountered. Millions of years of exploring the galaxy." He turned back to her. "Janet, for right now, this needs to remain a secret. I'll tell Jack, Sam and Teal'c, and if he agrees not to report it to his superiors, I'll tell General Hammond, but no one else, at least not yet. Do you recall what happened after Shifu gave me that dream in which I had all the knowledge of the Goa'uld?"

"Yes, the NID thought that you might have retained the knowledge in your subconscious and wanted to see if they could dig any of it out."

"Just about the same thing happened after I descended. Some people thought that all that knowledge of the Ancients was still in my mind somewhere, and they wanted to get at it. As you'll recall, I let them hypnotize me that time to see if some of the stuff could be unearthed, especially my memories of the year I was ascended."

"But it failed."

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't this time."

"And you don't want to take the chance of it triggering another overload."

Daniel nodded. "There is so much knowledge there, Janet. It could be used to do a lot of good, but it could also be used to commit unspeakable evil. No matter what I do, I need to make sure that this knowledge never gets into the hands of someone who would misuse it."

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Since there appeared to be nothing physically wrong with Daniel, Janet moved him out of the ICU and into one of the private rooms. She would have put him in the main ward, but she figured that he would likely be getting even more visitors now that he was conscious than he did before, and she didn't want the other patients constantly disturbed.

Daniel had no sooner been settled in his room when his teammates returned. Janet had given them the good news about his physical condition.

The moment she entered the room, Sam came up to Daniel, who was standing by the bed, and pulled him into a fierce embrace. The archeologist wrapped his arms around her and held on. It was a long time before Sam finally let go. There were tears in her eyes when she gazed up at him. He gave her a gentle smile and a soft kiss on the forehead.

The hug from Sam had not surprised Daniel, but the next one he got did. The moment Sam had moved away from him, Jack was there, giving him another tight hug. The colonel then cupped his face and ruffled his hair, just like so many years ago when Jack, Sam and Teal'c had discovered Daniel alive and well at the SGC after Apophis' ships were destroyed above Earth.

"Damn, it's good to see you alive, Daniel," Jack said.

"Indeed it is," agreed Teal'c as he stepped forward. Daniel got a hug from him, too.

"Janet told us that you're okay, completely healthy," Sam said, smiling.

"Yes, I'm fine, not a thing wrong with me," Daniel confirmed.

"But the little power monger won't let you go, right?" Jack asked, smirking.

"No, and I couldn't get her to change her mind. She wants to make sure I don't have a relapse."

Daniel's statement instantly sobered everyone.

Jack looked at his best friend worriedly. "There's no chance of that, is there?"

Daniel didn't reply, which heightened the concerns of his teammates.

"Daniel?" Sam said, a touch of fear in her voice.

Daniel sat on the bed. "There's something you need to know."

"We're not going to like this, are we," Jack guessed.

"Well, I don't know. In some ways, it could be a really good thing. In others. . . ." Daniel looked at his teammates one by one. "I still have the knowledge of the Ancients."

Everyone's eyes showed their surprise.

"You remember it all?" Sam asked, stunned.

Daniel shook his head. "No. I only consciously remember some things. Ever since I descended, we've all wondered if the knowledge I gained when I was ascended was still in my mind somewhere. I tried so hard to get at it, but, other than that memory of Erebus, I was never able to recall anything, not until I remembered what Baal did to Jack. And, even if all the memories of what I saw and did during that year _were_ still there in my subconscious somewhere, there was no guarantee that everything else was, too, the Ancient knowledge I would have gained after ascension. This time, it's different. I _know_ that it's all there, everything that the repository downloaded into my mind. And, if I really tried, I'm almost certain that I could bring it out of my subconscious."

"Holy Hannah," Sam breathed.

"I second that emotion," said Jack. "With all that knowledge, we could kick some serious Goa'uld ass. We could probably make more weapons like that one in Antarctica, arm ships--"

"Jack, you don't understand," Daniel interrupted. "If I tried to access that knowledge, there is a chance that it will all come flooding back into my conscious mind again."

"And you'd be in the same situation you were in before," Sam realized.

"Oh," Jack said. "Okay, forget what I said. We don't need it."

"Not yet, but there's no telling what the future will bring," Daniel told him. "Regardless, for right now, I think it would be best if nobody else knew about this. I had considered telling General Hammond, but it might be better not to put him in a position where he may have to lie to his superiors. If he doesn't know, he won't get into trouble."

Jack nodded. "I agree. Let's keep this just between us."

"I concur," Teal'c said. "Such knowledge could be dangerous if certain individuals were to learn of it."

"Yeah, like the NID," Jack muttered.

Daniel shook his head. "I'm not worried about the NID, Jack. I can handle them. There are other people we have to worry about a whole lot more."

The archeologist's teammates all pondered on his words, thinking about the people who were behind the incident in Los Angeles and may have also been involved in the murder attempts on Daniel and the theft at Area 51.

"So what else do you remember?" Jack asked. "Do you remember everything that happened after the download?"

"No. I remember a lot of it, but my memories of the things that happened during those last few hours are kind of sketchy. It's like I wasn't all there anymore. Most of the time, I was still somewhat aware of everyone, but I was so focused on the stuff inside my head that everything else was only on the periphery of my senses. There are some moments that I have no memory of at all in regards to what was going on around me. But I remember the last few minutes perfectly, everything that happened from the time I sat down in that chair at the Antarctica outpost and took control of that weapon until I put myself in stasis."

"Do you remember healing Teal'c?" Sam asked.

Daniel's eyes met the Jaffa's. "Yes. I looked at him, and I just _knew_ that I could heal him. I didn't even think about it."

"Your actions saved my life, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said. "I am in your debt."

Daniel shook his head. "No you're not, Teal'c. If our situations had been reversed, you'd have done the same thing."

"How about that amazing piece of piloting you did in the mountains?" Jack asked. "I gotta tell ya, Daniel, I was damn impressed. The next time we have to go up against some death gliders, I'm letting you take the controls."

The archeologist gave him rueful look. "Sorry, Jack, but I don't think I could ever do that again. I think that, because of the download, my brain was on overdrive. While I was flying that ship, my senses expanded way beyond anything that's ever happened before. I'm pretty sure that I'm not capable of that ordinarily, just like I couldn't ordinarily heal someone."

"Too bad. It was one hell of a ride."

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Janet kept Daniel in the infirmary the rest of the day and that night. During that time, he rarely lacked for company. At least one of his teammates was often there, and he could have sworn that nearly half the personnel on base came to visit at one time or another. Every single person who came to see him thanked him for what he'd done.

Come Saturday morning, there had been absolutely no indication that Daniel was going to suffer a relapse. Even so, when Janet released him, she insisted that he remain on-base for the rest of the weekend.

The archeologist didn't waste any time leaving the infirmary. He headed straight for his office. He was almost there when Jack came walking up to him. Actually, bouncing would have been a more accurate description.

"Hey. Doc just let you out?" he asked.

"Yep, and, now, I've got a million things to do before I leave."

Jack frowned. "Leave? What do you mean leave? I thought Fraiser wanted you to stay on-base through the weekend."

"She does. But, come Monday, I need to make arrangements to go to Antarctica."

"Why on Earth would you want to go back there?"

"According to the team that's there now, there's a ton of written data that the Ancients left behind. It's all written in Ancient, so. . . ."

"So, you being the only guy around who's fluent in it, they want you there."

"Uh huh. They've requested my help. Who knows what information is there, Jack. We might still be able to find the Lost City."

"Daniel, you just _died_, for cryin' out loud! Well, okay, so you didn't _really_ die, but we all _thought_ you did, and it was damn near close to it. Don't you think that maybe, possibly, you might want to take some time off? You know, kick back, relax, have some fun. You do remember what fun is, right?"

Daniel sighed. "Yes, Jack, I do remember what fun is, but I can't afford to take time off right now. This is too important."

The archeologist made a move to resume his journey to his office, but he was stopped by Jack's hand on his shoulder.

"Ah ah! Not so fast. I happen to know that you've not had your breakfast yet, and I am here to take you to the commissary. Doctor's orders."

Daniel looked at him suspiciously. "Doctor's orders or your orders?"

"Doesn't matter. You're coming either way."

Figuring that it would be easier just to go ahead and go with him, Daniel let the colonel lead him to the commissary. He was surprised to see that the doors were closed. As he swung them open, a loud "Surprise!" made him freeze. Daniel's mouth fell open. The entire commissary had been decorated with streamers and other party decorations. The place was packed with grinning people, some of them wearing party hats. A big banner that read "Saved the World Again!" was hanging from the ceiling.

Grinning, Jack said, "You didn't think we were going to pass up the opportunity for another 'Saved the World' party, did you?"

Daniel looked at him. "How come nobody told me?"

Sam came up and gave him a hug. "Because you're the guest of honor, and we wanted it to be a surprise."

"But . . . but we all did it together," Daniel objected. "It wasn't just me."

"Yeah, the rest of us played a part," Jack agreed, "and so did all those F-302 pilots and the crew of the Prometheus, but, if it hadn't been for you, nothing that any of the rest of us did would have mattered."

Before Daniel could make any more objections, he was dragged into the party. Since no alcoholic beverages were being served, the archeologist was not in danger of getting drunk, but so many people handed him glasses of punch to toast with that he _was_ in danger of floating away.

It was a great party, full of lots of happy conversation and laughter. About an hour into it, General Hammond walked up to Jack, his eyes on Daniel and Sam, who, at the moment, were laughing at something they were talking about.

"That's a wonderful thing to see, Jack," he said. "This victory would not have been nearly as sweet if we'd lost him."

"No, it wouldn't, sir." Jack pulled his gaze away from his best friend and faced his C.O. "Sir, Daniel talked about going to the outpost in Antarctica."

Hammond nodded. "His translation skills would be a big asset to the team that's there."

"Sir, Anubis is history, so there's no big rush to find the Lost City now. And, well, I'd consider it a personal favor if you would order Daniel to take a week off. I think he could really use it."

Hammond nodded. "Consider it done. In fact, consider yourself, Major Carter and Teal'c also on leave, effective Monday. I believe that Doctor Jackson is under medical orders to remain on base until then."

"Yes, sir. And thank you."

"You're welcome." Hammond looked over at Daniel. "It's the very least I can do for that young man."

Daniel wasn't all that happy a short while later when Jack rather smugly told him that SG-1 had been ordered to take a week off.

"Oh, cheer up, Daniel," the colonel said. "I think it's safe to say that Antarctica isn't going anywhere. It'll still be there in a week or two."

"Besides, we could all really use some time off," Sam remarked, which made Daniel stare at her in surprise.

"I'd have thought that you would be eager to dig into all that technology at the outpost," he said.

"Oh, I am. Absolutely. But, like the colonel says, it'll still be there after our leave." There was no way that Sam was going to pass up the opportunity for some time off, not when she planned on spending a good part of that time off with her best friend, celebrating the fact that he was alive.

Daniel finally shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you're right. A little time off might be good."

Jack smiled. "Darn right it will. After all, even superheroes need a vacation every once in awhile, especially after saving the Earth yet again."


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

Daniel's eyes were glued to the images on the computer screen. The team at the Ancient outpost had sent some video and photos to him via satellite, and he was now pouring over the text. He really wished that he could be there in person. It was more than just the crumbling ruins of a city once inhabited by the Ancients. It was a fully functional outpost, and it was right here on Earth.

The archeologist began speaking the text aloud in Ancient, only half-aware that he was doing so. He was so engrossed in what he was reading that he didn't become aware that someone was approaching until the person had entered the room. Daniel turned to see Sam just inside the doorway, a look of horror on her pale face. Seeing the expression, Daniel immediately stood up.

"Sam? What's wrong?" he asked urgently.

"Y-you were speaking Ancient," she whispered.

"What?" Daniel glanced at the monitor, realizing what she must have thought. "Oh! No, Sam, it's okay!" He took a quick step forward. "The Antarctic team sent over some stuff, and I was reading it. Instead of translating it aloud, I ended up reading it in Ancient. I'm okay. Really."

Sam's body relaxed from its tense stance. "I thought. . . ."

"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

Sam sighed. "I guess it's going to take time for me to get over the fear that, at any moment, it might start all over again." She moved further into the room. "It's like there's this . . . this time bomb inside your brain that could go off at any minute. And it's a little frightening. It's funny, but I never thought that I'd be unhappy about having a potential source for advanced technology, but I honestly wish that you didn't still have all that stuff inside your head. I've been thinking that, the next time we see Thor, you should ask him to remove it."

Knowing how excited Sam got over new technology, Daniel was a little surprised by her announcement. But then again, she had watched him 'die', so he could understand why she wouldn't want to take the chance of it happening again.

"Sam, though I can't say that I'm delighted by the knowledge that what happened to me could happen again, I can't throw this away. It's too important. We don't know when a time might come that we'll really need something that's in here." Daniel tapped on the side of his head. "At least, now, I know what to do if it does happen again. And, if all else failed, there is the stasis chamber at the outpost. It could keep me in stasis indefinitely, until Thor could be contacted and come to help. So, no matter what happens, I'm not going to die . . . well, at least not from this."

"Well, it still scares me." Sam sat in a chair. "Daniel, what was it like? The download didn't affect you exactly the same way it did the colonel. He didn't keep zoning out like you did, and he barely remembered any of the stuff he did."

"It's hard to describe. There were times when I felt so out of control, yet other times when I felt like . . . like my mind was wide open and free. Sometimes . . . sometimes, I felt like I wasn't even human anymore. The knowledge I had was so incredible, so vast. It's no wonder that our brains are incapable of consciously containing it all."

"But it can _unconsciously_ contain it all?"

"Apparently so, or at least mine can."

"When did you begin to suspect that? I mean, you must have had some idea that was possible when you put yourself in stasis."

"I got to thinking about what happened those times that I fell asleep and what we talked about concerning it."

"About your subconscious blocking some of the knowledge from your conscious mind while you slept."

Daniel gave a nod. "It dawned on me that, each time that happened, my subconscious was safely holding all that knowledge. The problem was that the stuff kept leaking back out into my conscious mind. I realized that, if I could figure out a way to put it all back into my subconscious and somehow keep it there, I'd be okay. But I was pretty sure that, to do that, I'd have to be in the equivalent of an unconscious state. I knew that, with biofeedback, I could lower my brainwave pattern down to a low delta frequency."

"But you did a lot more than that."

"Yeah. I was dying, running out of time. I knew that the stasis pod would keep me alive, lower my body functions to a level that would allow me to survive, prevent more damage from happening. When I couldn't get to the pod, I chose to put myself in stasis until I'd managed to store the Ancients' knowledge in my subconscious. Even then, I wasn't certain that the knowledge wouldn't eventually start leaking back out. I'm pretty sure now that, as long as I don't start poking around in my brain for it, the knowledge will stay put where it is."

"Let's hope you're right."

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The week off proved to be enjoyable for all the members of SG-1. They spent a great deal of it in each other's company, mainly because Daniel's teammates were still recovering from the emotional devastation of those hours that they thought he was dead and didn't want to have him out of their sight for long.

Sometimes, it was just one of Daniel's teammates who was with him, usually Jack or Sam. It was during one of his evenings with Sam that something happened. They had somehow gotten on the topic of all the dead Goa'uld that SG-1 had helped to bring down. Sam was busy talking about Nirrti when Daniel was hit full force with a memory.

"Daniel? What is it? What's wrong?" Sam asked anxiously.

For several seconds, the archeologist didn't reply, and Sam was starting to get worried. She was about to speak again when Daniel broke the silence.

"Oh, God," he whispered.

"What?"

Daniel abruptly got to his feet. He strode away a few paces. "I remember Nirrti, Sam," he said in a tight voice.

"What? What do you mean?"

Daniel turned back to her. "I was there! When Nirrti had you guys prisoner, t-the experiments!"

Sam's face paled. "You were there?"

Daniel spun away. "Dammit! She wouldn't let me help you! I wanted to-to-to heal you, to do _something_, even if it was just to make the pain go away, but Oma said no. She said I couldn't interfere. She wouldn't even let me talk to you. God, I was so _angry_. I wasn't trying to change something on a galactic scale! All I wanted to do was help you."

Daniel's last words were spoken in a pain-filled whisper. Sam immediately got to her feet and went to him. She laid a hand on his arm.

"It doesn't matter now, Daniel. All that matters is that you were there with me, with _us_, and that you wanted to help."

"I felt so useless, Sam. All that power, and I was useless."

"Which wasn't your fault. There is nothing but the stupid rules of the Ascended to blame for that. I know that, if it had been up to you, you'd have kicked the Goa'uld right out of the galaxy, their tails tucked between their legs."

Daniel let out a little laugh. He hugged Sam to him. "Thanks."

"There's nothing to thank me for." She gave him a smile. "Would you like some coffee or something?"

"Yes. Thanks."

Sam fixed the coffee as Daniel leaned against the kitchen counter, staring at the floor with a slight frown on his face.

"Want to talk about it?" Sam asked after a moment.

"What? Oh. No, I'm okay."

Sam didn't say anything more for a few seconds. "This is the second memory you've gotten back of that year in just the past few months."

"I know. I think that remembering about Jack and Baal was because of being in that place, which was so much like the cell he was in. But this time. . . . Ever since I came out of the stasis, I've been getting little . . . flashes."

"Flashes?"

"At first, I didn't understand what I was seeing, but I'm pretty sure now that I'm starting to get back my memories of that year I was ascended. I've been seeing quick flashes of images, stuff I didn't recognize, places and people I have no memory of seeing during my life before or after my ascension."

"Do you think it has something to do with the download?"

"It's possible. Maybe it jogged something loose, knocked through whatever wall Oma put around those memories. I mean, we knew that at least some of the memories had to be in there. If they weren't, I'd never have been able to remember about Erebus. But I'd given up on ever getting any more of them back." Daniel gazed off into the living room. "I don't think I want to remember them now."

Sam turned to him fully. "Why not?"

"Because every real memory that I've gotten back so far was one in which I failed one of you somehow. I'm afraid of what else my memories will show, what other people I let suffer and die as I just stood and watched. And I don't . . . I don't want to remember about Abydos, about how I failed them, too."

Sam stepped up to him and took his hands. "Daniel, look at me." The archeologist's eyes met hers. "It was not your fault," she said very slowly and firmly, "none of it. What did I say before? It's the rules of the Ascended that are to blame. If it hadn't been for them, you'd have broken the colonel out of that place. If it hadn't been for them, you'd have healed me, taken care of Nirrti, and gotten us all out of there. And, if it hadn't been for Oma or whomever it was that stopped you, you would have dealt with Anubis, and that weapon would never have been fired. Abydos would still be there. The other Ascended are to blame, not you. If you'd been allowed to, you would have used your power to save lives, to help people, just like you're doing now with the abilities you've gained. I am so proud of you, Daniel, of what you're doing. I know that Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c are, too."

Sam pulled Daniel into a tight hug, which he returned.

"So, I don't want to hear you saying anything more about failing us," Sam told him sternly. "You have _never_ failed us."

"I wouldn't say that. There was the sarcopha--"

"Ah!" Sam interrupted as she pulled back, sounding very much like Jack. "The sarcophagus incident wasn't your fault either. Besides, even though you were addicted to that thing and your mind was all messed up, you still managed to get us free. You didn't forget about us and leave us in that mine to die. You came through for us in the end. I doubt that many others in that situation would have done the same."

Sam turned away and poured each of them a cup off coffee, which told Daniel that she wasn't going to listen to him talk like that anymore. He smiled secretly, grateful for her unfailing faith, trust and support.

It was the very next day that it all came back to Daniel, every moment of that year he was ascended. Some of the memories were good ones. There were so many amazing things that he'd learned and seen. But other memories were not so good. After the incident with Jack, he had become gradually more disillusioned with his ascension, the rules of the Others feeling like a yoke around his neck. He'd tried to accept it, to "go with the flow", but it had been so hard. And then he'd found out that Anubis was going after the Eye of Ra on Abydos. Even then, he'd tried not to break the rules, to just bend them a little, but it just wasn't working.

The hardest memory of all was Abydos. He now knew that he _had_ tried to stop Anubis, had actually attacked the Goa'uld. But Oma had stopped him, pulled him away. Though he hadn't actually see Abydos destroyed, he had felt it. He sensed when the Abydonians all died and when Oma ascended them.

"She did it for me," Daniel told his teammates when they talked about it. "She ascended them for me because she knew that, if they had all really died, it would have killed me inside. And I think that she felt as if she owed them that. They were killed because she stopped me. She didn't _want_ to stop me, but she had no choice. If she hadn't stepped in, the others would have, and, if they'd done it . . . well, I don't think I'd be here right now."

Sam stared at him in horror. "You mean they'd have killed you?"

"No, I don't think so. But, when they wiped my memory, it would have been permanent. I'd never have gotten it back." Daniel looked at Teal'c. "You were right. Oma cheated. I should never have remembered who I was. And, though I can't be certain, I have a strong suspicion that she somehow made sure that you guys found me."

Sam nodded. "That's very possible. Jonas' brainstorm about the Lost City came to him pretty suddenly."

"A brainstorm that turned out to be wrong. If he hadn't mistranslated 'lacun', you wouldn't have gone to Vis Uban, not until it finally came up on the schedule years from now."

"And you'd have been there for all those years, not knowing who you were," Jack said, that thought disturbing him deeply.

Daniel's teammates did their best to keep Daniel's mind off the unpleasant memories from that year he was ascended, encouraging him to talk about the good memories instead. The remainder of the week off passed quickly.

Shortly after SG-1 returned to duty Monday morning, Daniel was called to Hammond's office.

"While you were on leave, the NID contacted me by phone," the general told him. "They are very interested in the fact that the knowledge of the Ancients was downloaded into your brain. They want to know if you've retained any of that knowledge."

_'Uh oh,'_ Daniel thought. _'This is what I was afraid of.' _

"I do consciously remember some things, but none of it would be of much use to us," he said aloud. "I don't remember the plans to any weapons or other devices. I doubt that the NID would be interested in the agrarian society that lives on a planet called Nestraana or the fact that there's a solar system with four dwarf stars on the outer edge of the galaxy."

"No, they probably wouldn't. And those are the only things you remember?"

"There's other stuff, too, but, like I said, nothing that would be of much use to the NID or the SGC. The rest of it is all locked back up in my subconscious."

"I see. All right, I will let them know what you've told me. Hopefully, that will be the end of the matter."

"There is one thing, though, sir."

"What's that?"

"I've regained all of my memories from when I was ascended."

Hammond leaned forward in his chair. "That's good news. I can only imagine what those memories entail."

"Some of it is pretty amazing, sir. I do remember visiting a few planets that we might want to check out. It's possible that we could gain some valuable allies or forge some good trade agreements."

"Excellent. Put anything you think is relevant or important in a written report."

"I will, sir."

"I must also tell you that an issue has arisen in regards to the Ancient outpost in Antarctica. It seems that the other countries who are privy to the existence of the Stargate Program are . . . concerned."

"Concerned?"

"They are, to put it mildly, nervous about the power of the weapon that is there. They are insisting that control of the outpost not be placed in the hands of the U.S."

"And who do they want to have control?" asked Daniel.

"That is still being argued about. In the meantime, all research at the outpost has been suspended."

"They're afraid we'll find out something and not share it with them."

"That's basically what it amounts to."

"So, I guess I'm not going there."

"Not at the present time, I'm afraid."

"Do you think it would do any good if I talked to them?"

"I'm not sure. A Doctor Elizabeth Weir is representing us in the talks."

A startled look crossed Daniel's face.

"What's wrong, Doctor Jackson?" Hammond asked.

"Um . . . nothing. Nothing's wrong. I'm, uh, familiar with Doctor Weir's work. I referenced some of it when I was working on the treaty with the Tok'ra. She definitely knows her stuff. I doubt that anything I'd say would be better than what she can do."

"I will mention it to Doctor Weir anyway and see what she says."

"Okay."

Daniel left Hammond's office, his mind on Doctor Elizabeth Weir. He knew that she was the person that the president would have replaced Hammond with if he hadn't convinced Hayes not to. Hammond to knew nothing about how close he came to losing his position as the commander of Stargate Command, and Daniel didn't want him to.

It was no surprise that Jack had a few choice things to say about the NID when Daniel told him and his other teammates about that government agency's latest interest in him. It was also no surprise that the colonel wasn't broken up over the news that Daniel would not be going to Antarctica for a while. In fact, he was downright pleased, for once in his life happy that politics was messing something up.

Daniel and Sam's afternoon was spent on a project that they were both involved with. At the end of the day, they decided to get together for dinner at Daniel's house and put their heads together to work out their individual problems with the project.

Daniel picked up some takeout on the way home, and the two scientists ate while talking about the project. After they were finished eating and the trash thrown away, Sam took the beverage glasses into the kitchen to rinse them out while Daniel went to the living room to start laying out his papers on the project. As the major was running water into one of the glasses, it slipped from her hand and fell into the sink, breaking.

"What happened?" Daniel called.

"Oh, one of the glasses broke." She reached for it. "Ow!" Sam drew her right hand back sharply and clutched it, staring at the blood welling from the gash in her palm. "Damn!"

Daniel hurried in. Seeing the cut, he grabbed a towel and pressed it to the wound.

"Well, that was really stupid," Sam said, chastising herself.

"It was an accident, Sam."

"Yeah, but it's one that's probably going to keep me off missions for at least a week. Janet will say I can't use a P-90 or a sidearm."

Daniel carefully drew the towel away to look at the wound. It was still bleeding quite a bit and looked like it might need a couple of stitches. Seeing the pain in Sam's eyes and how mad at herself she was, he wished that he still had the power to heal. He'd just wish it away. . . .

Some instinct took Daniel over. Only half-aware of what he was doing, he placed his hand over Sam's and closed his eyes. He felt a current of warmth flow through his body, down his arm to his hand and then out into Sam's hand.

Wondering what was going on, Sam felt the pain in her hand fade away to nothing. After a few seconds, Daniel withdraw his hand and they both stared at hers. The cut was gone. All that remained was the blood.

"Oh . . . my," Sam whispered in a hushed voice.

Daniel just gaped at the place where the cut had been, thoughts whirling chaotically.

Sam looked up at him. "Daniel, you . . . you. . . ."

"Yeah," he breathed.

"Holy Hannah."

The archeologist stared down at his own hands. "I, uh . . . I guess I kept something else from the download."

"Daniel, this is amazing. You have the Ancients' power to heal, like Ayiana did."

Daniel didn't respond. He washed Sam's blood off his hands, then went into the living room. Sam quickly washed her own hands, then joined him on the couch.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "I would think that you'd be delighted. You could save even more lives with this."

"I know, and I am happy about that, but. . . ." Daniel met her eyes. "Sam, do you have any idea what this is going to cause? I'm already having trouble with the NID. This it going to make it even worse. In their eyes, this will be proof positive that I retained the stuff from the download. They'll think I'm lying about not remembering most of the Ancients' knowledge."

"Just because you retained the ability to heal people wouldn't mean that you consciously retained all the knowledge."

"You and I understand that, and most of the people at the SGC will understand or at least accept that, but the NID won't."

Sam sighed. "You're probably right. So, what are we going to do, keep it a secret?"

"We can't. Janet has to be told. There could come a time when she'd really need this for a patient."

"Then we'll just have to deal with the NID when the times come."

--------------------------------------------------

The next morning, Daniel requested a meeting with his teammates, Janet and General Hammond. They were now all sitting at the table, looking at him expectantly, except for Sam, of course, who was watching him with an expression of encouragement.

"Um . . . last night, I discovered something," Daniel began. He looked at everyone. "I don't know how, but I've retained the Ancients' ability to heal others."

Both Jack and Janet exclaimed in surprise.

"How did you find out?" the doctor asked.

"I cut my hand on a piece of broken glass," Sam explained. "Daniel healed it. There's not a mark left."

"So, you just, what, looked at her hand and healed it?" Jack asked. "How'd you know to do that?"

"I didn't just look at it, Jack," Daniel replied. "And it was . . . instinct. No, that's not right. Some part of me just knew that I could do it. I didn't even think about it."

"This is extraordinary news, Doctor Jackson," Hammond said. "This ability could save many lives."

Janet shook her head. "It could save lives, yes, but we have to remember something. When Ayiana cured us of the Ancients' plague, it weakened her significantly. Chances are that, if Daniel used this ability extensively, the same thing would happen to him. He would have to be very careful."

"When he healed Teal'c, he almost passed out," Jack recalled.

"Exactly."

"This is going to cause a big problem, you know," Daniel told everyone. "The NID are going to suspect that, because I still have this ability, I must also still consciously have the Ancients' knowledge."

"Crap," Jack cursed. "You're right."

"They will believe that you are lying when you say that you do not," Teal'c stated.

"Can we keep this a secret?" Jack asked hopefully.

Hammond shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Colonel. This must be reported to my superiors."

"Even if they don't believe Daniel, what can they do. They can't prove that he's lying when he's not," Janet pointed out.

"No, they can just cause a lot of trouble and be an even bigger pain in the ass," Jack responded.

"They're already showing even more interest in me because of the download," Daniel said. He turned to the general. "What did they say when you told them that I didn't remember most of the knowledge?"

"Though they did not say so openly, I got the impression that they have doubts about your claim."

"Which doesn't surprise me," Jack said. "We'll just have to make it clear that Daniel's telling the truth." He smiled. "I just thought of something. There is another good thing about this healing stuff. Miss Eternal Bloom could heal herself, too, or at least from injuries. Considering how often Daniel gets hurt, that could really come in handy."

Daniel gave him a sarcastic smile. "Yeah, Jack. Maybe I'll stop dying so often now. That's a big plus."

"You got _that_ right."

--------------------------------------------------

President Hayes shook his head in wonder as he read the latest report from General Hammond. The more time that passed, the more amazing Doctor Jackson revealed himself to be. Now, the archeologist had discovered that he had the ability to heal injuries. Hayes had to wonder what the next revelation would be.

The president leaned back in his chair. Ever since Daniel and the rest of SG-1 saved Earth from Anubis, he had been intending to send them all personal letters of commendation, but his duties as president had been especially heavy since the events in Antarctica because of having to deal with the fallout from those events. The Chinese, Russian, British, French and Canadian governments were all up in arms about the whole thing. Hayes did not envy Elizabeth Weir and the job she had trying to keep them calm and reasonable. But this is what she was trained for, and Hayes had confidence that she could handle it.

Nobody knew that Doctor Weir was one of the people Hayes had considered putting in command of the SGC before he decided that it would be best to keep Hammond there. Well, there was the chance that Daniel Jackson knew.

Hayes' thoughts turned fully to the archeologist. They all owed the man a great deal. He had saved the lives of everyone on Earth, almost at the cost of his own. A letter of commendation seemed a poorly inadequate reward.

The president recalled something that General Maynard had said. There was no doubt that Daniel Jackson deserved the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He had done more for this planet than any other civilian in history. But there was a problem. The list of Medal of Freedom recipients was public, and there was no way that an unclassified reason could be made up for Daniel being given the medal, which meant that it would have to be awarded in secret, at least from the rest of the world.

This was something he'd have to discuss with others. Though deciding who would receive the medal was his decision alone, there would be others who would have to be involved in the process, some of whom would have to be told about the Stargate Program. But, regardless of the unique difficulties that giving the medal to Daniel would cause, the archeologist was definitely worthy of the effort.

Hayes wrote a list of the people he knew would have to be involved in this, then pressed on the intercom button and told his aide to ask the vice president to come to his office. The president smiled upon thinking about what Kinsey's reaction was going to be when he told the man that he was going to give the Presidential Medal of Freedom to someone that Kinsey had reason to hate and fear.

A short while later, the vice president walked in. Hayes waved him to a seat.

"I wanted to let you know that I've been thinking about this year's recipients of the Medal of Freedom, one in particular," Hayes told him.

Kinsey nodded. "Yes, that is something that needs to be decided on within the next few months for the award ceremony in July."

"Actually, the particular recipient I'm thinking of wouldn't get his medal in the ceremony at the White House. It would be more of a . . . private affair."

Kinsey frowned. "I don't understand."

"I'm speaking of Doctor Jackson."

As Hayes watched closely, the face of the man sitting across from him darkened. "Mister President, you can't be serious."

"Why not? Doctor Jackson has repeatedly performed services to this country, to this _planet_, that fits well within the criteria laid down for the Medal of Freedom. If Bob Hope and Julia Child could be given the medal, you can't honestly say that someone like Doctor Jackson doesn't deserve it. The man deserves the Congressional Gold Medal, too, but, unfortunately, awarding that medal has to be passed by Congress, and since a huge chunk of the House of Representatives and Senate don't know about the Stargate, it'll be out of the question until the program goes public. But I and I alone decide who gets the Medal of Freedom, and I think it's way past time that Daniel Jackson is given one."

The sour expression remained on Kinsey's face. "It could not be made public."

"I am aware of that. There are a few people who will have to know, but it can be done." He handed the list of names to Kinsey. "These are the people who will have to be brought in on this. Some of them will need to be told about the Stargate Program. I want to get them together here and tell them all at once so that I don't have to repeat everything several times."

"When were you planning on giving him the medal?"

"As soon as it can be arranged." Hayes grinned. "I'd sort of like to do it before he dies yet again, not that it would make much of a difference since he'd likely pull another Lazarus."

Kinsey handed the slip of paper back to the president. "While I'm here, I wanted to ask you about your plans for Stargate Command. Now that the danger of Anubis has passed and we don't have to rush to find this Lost City of the Ancients, I think it would be an excellent time to find a replacement for General Hammond. You made a valid point about the political situation before, and--"

"Sorry, Bob. Not gonna happen," Hayes interrupted. "Hammond is staying right where he is, at least until the time comes that I choose to promote him."

"P-promote him? After all the ways he's screwed up as commander of the SGC?! Promote him to what?"

"Once we get this whole thing with the Ancient outpost straightened out, I am considering creating a new military-run organization that would oversee it, the Stargate Program, and the 302 program, everything that is connected to our . . . off-world interests. I'm thinking of calling it Homeworld Security. I thought that had a nice ring to it. General Hammond would be placed in charge since I can't think of another man more qualified for the job than he is."

Kinsey tried to hide how disturbed he was by this announcement. Such an organization would make it even harder for him and the people he was in league with to be in control of the Stargate.

"So, who would take over command of the SGC?"

"Actually, I was thinking of giving that command to Colonel O'Neill." Hayes almost smiled, waiting for the vice president's reaction.

"O'Neill?!" Kinsey squawked. "The man's an incompetent idiot! He and his team have put this planet at risk numerous times. How can you even consider giving command of the SGC to him?"

"Unlike you, Bob, I happen to think that Colonel O'Neill and the rest of his team have done a damn fine job in their position, considering what they're up against and all the strange and unique situations they have to deal with. I doubt that anyone else could have done better. But this isn't final. I'm still mulling it all over in my mind." He began riffling through a stack of papers on his desk. "That'll be all for now, Bob. I'll let you know when the meeting with those people has been arranged."

The president watched Kinsey stalk out of the Oval Office, chuckling after the door closed behind him. The truth was that, from a military standpoint, O'Neill really was the logical choice to take over command of the SGC. He was equally as experienced as Hammond was in dealing with the Goa'uld and other alien issues and dangers. The only major reservation Hayes had was the colonel's less than stellar record when it came to diplomacy. But, since talking with Doctor Jackson and after witnessing the events of the fight with Anubis, Hayes had come to realize that diplomacy was not the skill that was most needed at the SGC; it was knowledge of the Goa'uld, military experience and a keen mind for tactics and strategy, all of which Colonel O'Neill had in spades. Even so, Hayes was still not a hundred percent convinced that he would be the best man for the job. It was going to take a lot more thought before he could decide on this.

This brought the president's mind back to his original thought, the one about the commendations for SG-1. That's when an idea came into his head.

He picked up the phone and called a number it hadn't taken long to memorized. "George! How's it going?"

"Oh, pretty much the same as usual for this place, Mister President," General Hammond replied.

"Saved the planet again this week?"

"No, sir. Nothing that dramatic. Can I assume this call has to do with my report about Doctor Jackson?"

"Only partly. This newest information is astounding, that's for sure. I have to wonder what revelations are going to be made next. But the main reason for my call is that I've been wanting to send all the members of SG-1 letters of commendation for their actions in stopping Anubis, but it just hasn't gotten done. I decided that I'd like to give them the letters personally."

Hammond smiled, pleased. "They would be honored, sir."

"So, what is their mission schedule like?"

"They're not scheduled for anything important, nothing that can't be handled by another team."

"Good. Then how about Saturday? I'm planning on taking a little break this weekend and going to Camp David, have a bit of fun in the snow. I don't think that SG-1's ever been there."

"No, they haven't, sir, and, considering the problems you've had to deal with recently, I'd say you deserve a weekend off."

"My thoughts exactly. Okay then, it's settled. I will be expecting SG-1 to join me at Camp David on Saturday. Say around noon? We can all have a nice meal together before getting down to business. They can spend the night and head back home Sunday morning."

"I'm sure they'll enjoy it, sir."

"I'll have a helicopter waiting for them at the airport. Just give my aide their flight information when you have it." Hayes paused a moment. "I should tell you that there is another reason why I've decided to give them their commendations in person."

"Oh?"

"It's regarding Doctor Jackson." Hayes paused again. "I'm awarding him the Medal of Freedom, George."

Surprise and then absolute delight stilled Hammond's tongue for a moment. "I can't tell you how happy I am to hear that, Mister President. If there is any man on this planet who's earned it, it's him."

"I couldn't agree more. While I'd dearly love to surprise him with the presentation, that probably wouldn't be wise. We wouldn't want him to faint from the shock."

Hammond chuckled. "I doubt that he would, sir, but it would be best to warn him ahead of time."

"Which is what I'll be doing on Saturday."

"How were you planning on doing this, sir? The public does not know about Doctor Jackson's achievements, so the medal cannot be awarded publically."

"I know. How would you feel about a little presidential visit to the SGC?"

"We would be pleased and honored, sir."

"Good. I can't think of a more fitting place to award that medal than on the ramp to the gate that Doctor Jackson opened to us."

"Neither can I, Mister President."


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Furious, Vice President Kinsey went to his office. This was a disaster. Not only was Hayes considering creating an organization that would seriously interfere with their plans, he was actually thinking about putting O'Neill in charge of the SGC. This could not be allowed to happen--and neither could awarding Jackson the Medal of Freedom.

Kinsey sat at his desk and retrieved the cell phone from the locked drawer it was hidden in.

"We've got a big problem," he said to the person who answered the number he dialed. He explained what the president had told him about the plans for the SGC and the new Homeworld Security.

"You're right. This will cause a problem," the man agreed. "It appears that we have no choice but to remove the president."

Kinsey smiled in satisfaction. "It's about time you agreed with me on that."

"You are kept apprised of his schedule, so we'll leave it up to you to decide what will be the best time."

"Right. I'll let you know what I come up with. Are you going to have one of your own people do it or hire a professional?"

"We'll go with an independent hit man. If, somehow, he gets caught, we can't have it be anyone with ties to us. And we'll have to keep our identity a secret from him so that he can't be forced into revealing who hired him. Give us a call as soon as you work out the best time."

There was a click, and the line went dead. Kinsey put the phone back in the drawer. He pulled out the president's itinerary for the next month. With the exception of the weekend, the rest of this week was packed full of meetings here at the White House, so there was no chance that a hit could be arranged for this week. Next week and the week after looked pretty much the same. Kinsey saw that, later next month, there would be several opportunities for the assassination, but this needed to be done as soon as possible, before Hayes established his Homeworld Security. Kinsey also wanted it done before the president had an opportunity to give the Freedom Medal to Jackson. There was no way the vice president was going to let that happen.

Kinsey thought about this weekend. Hayes was planning on going to Camp David. Though killing the president there would be difficult, it wouldn't be impossible, not with the inside information he could provide. It would be the only real opportunity for the assassination during the next three weeks.

The vice president got back on the phone with his contact and told him about the trip to Camp David.

"That is not much time to arrange a presidential assassination," the man said.

"No, but the information I can provide will make it easier. Not only will I have his schedule, I can also give you information on the layout of the area, details on the security and more. I've been there more than once and know the place well."

"True. Very well. We'll plan on this weekend, if we can find someone to do the job that quickly. The moment you get the president's exact itinerary, let us know."

Kinsey hung up. He was just about to call Hayes' aide when his own aide told him that the president was on the phone for him.

"Hey, Bob," said Hayes. "I figured I should let you know that I'll have some company at Camp David this weekend."

"Company?"

"I've invited SG-1 to join me there, just for Saturday afternoon and overnight."

"SG-1?" Damn! This could cause a problem.

"Yes. I want to chat with them about a few things."

"I see. Will your aide have your itinerary?"

"As soon as everything is worked out."

"All right. Have her send me a copy as soon as possible."

Kinsey hung up. Dammit! Why, of all times, did Hayes have to invite SG-1 for a little getaway?

It was then that an idea came to Kinsey, one that would solve two problems at once. The more he thought about it, the better he liked it.

Once more, he called his contact in the organization. "Once you find someone to do the job, I need to have his contact information," he said.

"Why?"

"Just in case there's a last minute change in the plans. It will be a lot faster for me to contact the person directly than having to go through you."

"You do have a point. But no phone conversations. We can't take the chance of him recognizing your voice."

"Agreed."

"I'll contact you as soon as we've found someone."

Kinsey hung up with a smile on his face. At last, he was going to get what he wanted, control of the Stargate Program and the elimination of Daniel Jackson once and for all.

--------------------------------------------------

"Camp David?" Jack said in surprise. Hammond had just told them that the president was inviting them to meet him at the well-known presidential retreat.

"Why?" Daniel asked.

"The president has some things that he'd like to talk to you about."

Jack frowned. "I'm not sure I like the sound of that."

Hammond smiled. "I assure you, Colonel, it's nothing unpleasant. Just the opposite, in fact."

"Then you know what this is all about, sir?" Sam questioned.

"Yes, but I don't have permission to tell you. You'll just have to wait and find out from the president yourself."

"This weekend," Jack said.

"That's right. Noon on Saturday, to be exact. You'll stay there overnight, then fly back Sunday morning."

Jack smiled a little. "Spend the night at Camp David. Never done that before. Actually, I've never been there at all. Too bad it's not summer. I bet there's some great fishing around there."

"I'm sure that you'll find other things to keep you occupied while you're there. I've taken the liberty of having you booked on the 6 a.m. flight to Dulles. There will be a helicopter waiting there to take you to Camp David."

"Sounds good, sir," Jack said.

SG-1 left the general's office and headed to Daniel's.

"I wonder what the president wants to talk to us about?" the archeologist said.

"No idea," Jack admitted. "If Hammond hadn't assured us it wasn't anything bad, I'd be afraid that Hayes was going to try to talk you into letting the NID dig into your brain."

"Maybe he wants to talk about the stuff with Anubis and Antarctica," Sam suggested.

Daniel nodded. "That's possible."

"Well, I guess we'll find out on Saturday," Jack said. "Just be sure to pack your thermal underwear and snow boots, kids."

"I do not possess such attire," Teal'c informed him. "Nor do I intend to wear . . . thermal underwear." He said the last words with a mild look of disdain on his face.

Jack shrugged. "Suit yourself. I, for one, am not going to let any body parts freeze off."

"I have confidence that all of my body parts will still be attached when we return, O'Neill."

--------------------------------------------------

The rest of that day passed uneventfully. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the following day. As everyone had feared, the NID, upon finding out about Daniel's healing abilities, was openly expressing doubts about his claim that he remembered next to nothing of the Ancients' knowledge. A Captain Greenwood and their old friend Major Rice arrived early that afternoon, requesting to speak with Daniel immediately. Not wanting things to turn ugly, Hammond had only Daniel and Doctor Fraiser come to the briefing room, knowing that if Jack was there, he'd butt heads with the NID agents, especially Rice.

"Doctor Jackson," Rice said. "Quite a lot has changed since we last met."

"Yes, it has. But trust me, some things haven't," the archeologist told him with a hard stare.

"We'll see." The major turned to Hammond. "Several of my superiors are having a difficult time believing that, though he has retained the healing ability that came with the Ancients' knowledge, Doctor Jackson has virtually no memory of the knowledge itself."

"Excuse me, but the healing ability is only partially connected to that knowledge," Janet stated.

"How so?" Captain Greenwood asked. "Isn't it true that it's only because of the download of that knowledge that Doctor Jackson gained this ability?"

"Yes, but you have to understand how it works. The ability to heal injuries and illnesses like this is not something that can come about because of a set of instructions. You can't tell someone how to instantaneously heal torn flesh."

"Then how do you explain it?" Rice asked, frowning.

"When Doctor Jackson interfaced with the repository, a lot more happened than just a bunch of knowledge being downloaded into his mind. His brain was significantly altered by the download. Normally, there are areas of the human brain that show little activity, and there are still lots of questions about what those areas do. Since Daniel began using his paranormal abilities, some of those areas are showing significantly more activity, which leads me to believe that they are the source of those abilities. Scans I took after the download showed that virtually one hundred percent of Daniel's brain was fully active, including those areas that science is still trying to figure out. I believe that, because of the download, Daniel's natural ability to heal others was awakened in one of those areas."

"Then he already had this ability? He just didn't know it?" Greenwood asked, skeptical.

Janet shook her head. "No, not exactly. You see, it has been long theorized that all human beings possess what we call psychic abilities. It's just that the majority of us can't consciously tap into them. So, technically, we don't have them. However, if something happened to enable us to access and use those portions of our brain, everything would change."

Rice frowned. "So, you're saying that the download did that, and he somehow kept the ability even after he lost the knowledge itself?"

"Yes."

"I don't buy it."

"Why not?" Daniel asked.

"Because I think that this is all an effort to hide the fact that you remember a hell of a lot more of that knowledge than you're willing to admit."

Angry, Janet was all ready to rip into the major, but Daniel's stopped her with a little shake of the head.

"So, tell me, Major Rice. What would be my reason for hiding that?" he asked the NID agent.

"Because, if we knew for sure that you still had the knowledge, you'd be taken off SG-1. That knowledge would be far too valuable to risk by having you stay on an SG team."

Daniel leaned forward. "Think about it, Rice. What's my main reason for staying on SG-1? It's to help fight the Goa'uld. Now, think about this. If I really did have conscious access to all that knowledge, I could use it to stop the Goa'uld. It would give us exactly what I've wanted for over seven years. After everything I've done, do you honestly think that I'd be selfish enough to sacrifice the welfare of Earth and the defeat of the Goa'uld just because I wanted to stay on SG-1?"

"Considering everything you've already suffered and sacrificed for Earth, that wouldn't make sense," Greenwood admitted. Daniel was glad that at least one of the two men had some common sense.

"You could have other motivations," Rice insisted. "This wouldn't be the first time that you've deliberately taken actions to deny Earth of sorely needed technology."

Daniel sighed. "You know, constantly bringing up that whole thing about the Tollans is really getting old, Rice. Yes, I prevented our government from wrongfully imprisoning a group of peaceful aliens because I felt that the technology we _might_ have gotten from them wasn't worth the crime that would have been committed to get it. You want to know the truth? There actually is one thing that would stop me from giving our government the Ancients' knowledge, and that's if I thought we'd end up blowing ourselves up with it or become what the Velonans did."

"Velonans?" Greenwood questioned.

"The people that the Ancient, Orlin, helped save from the Goa'uld by teaching them how to build a highly advanced weapon. After defeating the Goa'uld that were attacking them, the Velonans began planning the conquest of other planets, using the technology Orlin gave them. The Ascended destroyed them to stop that from happening."

"Then you're admitting that, if you thought we shouldn't have the knowledge, you wouldn't give it to us," Rice said in triumph.

"Yes. Knowledge is power, Major Rice, and the entire knowledge of the Ancients is power beyond imagining. Earth is not ready for that much power."

Rice smiled nastily. "Then you've just told us your reason for hiding the knowledge."

"No, I've told you the reason why I wouldn't share knowledge that I thought was too dangerous. I'm not a stupid man, Major, though you apparently think I am. If I'd managed to retain a decent portion of the Ancients' knowledge, I could pick and choose what to give Earth and what to keep to myself. I could claim that what I gave you was all that I remembered. No one would ever know that I had a whole lot more. Doing that would get people like you off my back since I'd be giving you enough weapons and other technology to keep you happy. At the same time, I'd be helping us defeat the Goa'uld with that very same technology. The fact that I've given you nothing at all should tell you that I have nothing to give."

Rice sneered at him. "What I think is that you've realized you made a mistake by claiming that you remember nothing, and it's too late to correct it without showing your hand."

Daniel stared right back. "No, I could just claim that some of the knowledge leaked back into my conscious mind. After a year of remembering virtually nothing about the time I was ascended, I now remember it all. It wouldn't be all that strange for me to suddenly say that the information for some Ancient weapons popped into my memory."

"I'd like to know something, Doctor Jackson," Captain Greenwood said. "Why have you refused to let yourself be hypnotized in an effort to retrieve the knowledge?"

"Two reasons. One is what I just stated. A lot of that knowledge is too dangerous, and I'd have little control over what I remembered through hypnosis. The other reason is that I _really_ don't want to go through that whole thing over again. Having all that knowledge nearly killed me. If you started digging around in my subconscious, it could trigger a repeat of what happened before, which wouldn't help any of us. If you read the report, you know that I wasn't much use in actually imparting my knowledge to others. My brain was too overwhelmed to be able to do that."

"I'd like to interject something here," Janet said. "It has to do with what Daniel just said. The human brain is not designed to consciously hold that vast amount of knowledge. As Daniel said, it nearly killed him when he had it, and the same thing happened to Colonel O'Neill over five years ago. It would be impossible for Daniel to be consciously retaining a significant portion of that knowledge and not suffer any symptoms. Just the fact that he's sitting here, completely healthy and cognizant, is proof enough that he's telling the truth."

"We never said that he had all of the knowledge, Doctor," Rice said, "or even the majority of it. We just think that he has a lot more than he says he does."

"And who exactly is 'we'?"

"Myself and some of my superiors. It's not really necessary for you to know all their names."

"Well, you and those superiors are wrong," Daniel said bluntly, "and, since you clearly don't have any proof of your beliefs, there's not a damn thing you can do."

Rice's eyes narrowed. "Oh, there's plenty we can do, Jackson. We're under a new administration now, and this president may be less enamored of SG-1. I intend to tell my superiors that they should speak to him about having you transferred to Area 51, where your knowledge will be of greater use to the planet."

Daniel smiled. "Hey, if you want, I can pass on the message to him at Camp David on Saturday," he offered brightly.

Rice frowned. "What?"

Hammond also smiled. "SG-1 has received a personal invitation from the president to spend a portion of the weekend with him at Camp David. I guess he likes them just fine, especially since they just happened to save the whole damn planet yet again."

The NID agent scowled severely.

"I'll be sure to give him your regards, Major," Daniel said, his voice dripping with honey. He noticed a faint smile flit across Captain Greenwood's face, which led Daniel to believe that the man was not another Rice.

"I believe that this meeting is at an end," Hammond said, rising from his chair.

"General Hammond--" Rice began.

"Major, I would suggest that you leave now without saying anything further," Hammond interrupted in a dangerous tone of voice, "unless you'd like _me_ to talk to the president and tell him how much disrespect you've shown toward the man that all of us owe our lives to."

Rice proved that he did have some small measure of intelligence after all--or perhaps just a healthy sense of self-preservation--and shut up. He got up from the table and left the room.

Captain Greenwood rose to his feet. He met Daniel's eyes. "I'm sorry about that, sir. Personally, I think that you're telling the truth, and I don't think that you should be made to work at Area 51, if you don't want to."

"Thank you, Captain."

After Greenwood had left, Janet turned to Daniel. "Though I admire your honesty, Daniel, it might not have been wise to say that you wouldn't give us knowledge that you thought was too dangerous for Earth to have."

"If I hadn't said it myself, sooner or later, Rice or someone else would have suggested that was my reason for hiding the knowledge. With my track record, it wouldn't be that much of a stretch."

"Good thinking," Hammond said. "In this way, you cut off that avenue of speculation before it even got started."

"Well, I have to get back to the infirmary," Janet told them. "SG-18 came back from their last mission with a severe case of an alien version of poison oak, and the calamine lotion isn't helping."

"Thanks for your help, Janet," Daniel said.

"My pleasure, Daniel."

The petite doctor left the briefing room.

Daniel turned back to Hammond. "Sir, do you think this is it or can I expect more trouble from the NID?"

"I'm afraid I can't answer that, Doctor Jackson. However, I wouldn't object if you asked the president on Saturday to step in and tell the NID to leave you alone."

Daniel smiled a little. "Maybe I'll do that, sir."

Hammond smiled as well. "Now go on and tell your teammates that you're not going to be hauled off to Area 51. After waiting in the corridor all this time, I'm sure they're getting anxious."

Startled, Daniel stared at him. "You knew?"

Hammond's smile got bigger. "I'm not a general for nothing, Doctor Jackson."

Daniel left the briefing room and went straight to where he knew that Sam, Jack and Teal'c were waiting.

"Hi guys," he said.

"So?" inquired Jack.

"Don't worry, Jack. The NID aren't going to come here and drag me kicking and screaming off to Area 51. Rice was his usual charming self. We all argued back and forth about whether or not I remembered more of the Ancients' knowledge than I said I did. I said that it didn't matter what Rice and his superiors thought since they had no proof and could do nothing about it. He told me that they were going to talk to the new president and get him to approve my transfer, and I told him about our upcoming visit to Camp David at the president's personal invitation."

Sam smiled. "I bet that surprised him."

"Just a bit. After that, Hammond threw Rice out. Oh, and Captain Greenwood apologized for Rice being a jackass."

That surprised Jack. "He did?"

"Uh huh. He apparently doesn't share Rice's viewpoint."

"That's good," Sam said. "I know that there must be a lot of people at the NID who aren't in the same camp as Major Rice. I'm certain that Agent Barrett isn't."

"So, how come it's just the jackasses that come here?" Jack asked.

"Maybe because of the fact that they _are_ jackasses," Daniel replied.

"Oh. Right." Jack looked at his teammates. "So, lunch anyone?"

--------------------------------------------------

Not surprisingly, no one heard anything about the NID talking to the president about transferring Daniel, which probably meant that either they realized it would be a waste of time or the president told them to take a hike.

Because of the early flight time to Camp David, SG-1 decided that it would be best to stay at a hotel in Denver Friday night so that they wouldn't have to drive all that distance Saturday morning. Even doing that, they were still going to have to get up really early to catch their flight.

It was late Friday morning when the warning of an unscheduled off-world activation was announced. SG-1 happened to be nearby and made it to the control room just as the wormhole was established.

"We're getting an IDC code, sir," Harriman said to Hammond. "It's the Tok'ra."

"Oh, _wonderful_," Jack muttered. "What do _they_ want?"

Everyone was pleased to see Jacob Carter appear through the event horizon. Hammond and SG-1 went down to greet him.

"Dad," Sam said with a smile, coming forward to hug him.

"Hey, Sam. It's good to see you."

"So, I'm guessing you've heard all the news," Jack said.

"How could we not? Earth destroying Anubis and his entire fleet is the talk of the galaxy."

"And you guys wanna know how we did it, right?"

"We'd sort of like to know that, yes, although we already know that Ancient technology is involved. The Goa'uld are aware that you found some kind of Ancient weapon here on Earth."

"Let's go up to the briefing room," Hammond said.

"So, I'm assuming that this is a pretty long story," Jacob said once everyone was seated.

"Oh, not so long," Jack replied. "I think I can sum it up in under two minutes. A certain archeologist figures out that there's an Ancient repository on Planet X. SG-1 and Company go to Planet X and find said repository. The Goa'uld display their usual habit of showing up at the worst possible moment and try to blow up SG-1 and Company so that they can have the repository for themselves. The aforementioned archeologist decides that we can't let Anubis get the knowledge of the Ancients, but we also can't let all that lovely knowledge be lost, so guess what he does. He sticks his head in the Ancient headsucker. Presto! All that knowledge is now in his brain. A little C-4, and boom goes the repository. With half-conscious archeologist in tow, SG-1 and Company beat it back to Earth.

"Well, as everyone knew would happen, the archeologist starts to do and say weird things because of all that stuff crammed into his brain. Amidst all the weirdness, he thinks he finds the Lost City of the Ancients.

"In the meantime, Anubis, royally pissed off that we cheated him out of his prize and thinking that we're now going to get all the really cool Ancient toys, decides to come kick our ass. So, SG-1 and Bra'tak go running willy-nilly to what we think might be the Lost City, but, instead, turns out to be a planet that makes Netu look like a vacation spot. But all is not lost, for there's this nicely decorated little place there that has a functioning power source. SG-1 takes the power source and hightails it back to Earth. Unfortunately, the archeologist isn't doing so good because his brain is being overwhelmed by all the Ancient knowledge.

"Back on Earth, Anubis has arrived and sees that, hmm, nobody's firing at him, so we must not have any cool weapons. But, before he can get busy kicking our ass, it's SG-1 to the rescue. The archeologist, despite the fact that he's no longer playing with a full deck, manages to out-fly several dozen Al'Kesh and death gliders, then finds an Ancient outpost hidden beneath the ice in Antarctica. SG-1 rings down to it. And that's when things _really_ get interesting. As the rest of SG-1 fights supersoldiers in the outpost and the Prometheus and our entire fleet of 302's battle Anubis' forces up above, the archeologist sits in this nifty throne and makes these glowy squid things fly up and totally blast Anubis and his ships to bits.

"But is this the end of our story? Nope! Because, now, his job done, the archeologist very inconsiderately dies on us."

Jacob looked at Daniel sharply. Before he could make the comment that the linguist looked alive to him, Jack continued.

"But guess what. It turns out that he's not dead after all, even though he laid in the morgue for four hours. He's just," Jack made air quotes, "'sleeping'. More accurately, he's in some kind of suspended animation that just makes him _look_ dead because his heart's beating only twice a minute. At last, the archeologist wakes up, and everything is just peachy." Jack looked at his watch. "Did I make it?"

"Sorry, Jack. Two and a half minutes," Daniel replied.

"Damn. I didn't talk fast enough."

Jacob shook his head. "You know what's really sad? This doesn't surprise me one bit, well except maybe for the suspended animation thing." He looked at Daniel. "Care to elaborate?"

Daniel explained it to Jacob, who, along with Selmak, was amazed by the whole thing.

"But what about the Ancients' knowledge?" the Tok'ra asked.

"Now, why does it not surprise me that you'd zoom right in on that?" Jack said.

"It's still there, but most of it is buried in my subconscious," Daniel explained. "I don't dare try to get at it in case it causes everything to start happening all over again."

"So, you've got the entire knowledge of the Ancients sitting in your brain, but you can't touch it?"

"Yep."

"Too bad. With that knowledge, we could destroy the Goa'uld."

"And ourselves. Oh, don't get me wrong. If I could manage to safely dig out of my head what we need to stop the Goa'uld, I'd be delighted, but that's as far as I would go. You can't comprehend the vastness of that knowledge, how powerful it is. The human race isn't even close to being ready for it . . . and neither is the Tok'ra."

Jacob's head dipped. When he spoke again, it was with the echoing tone of Selmak. "I would agree with you, Doctor Jackson, though I am certain that others among the Tok'ra would not. The full extent of that knowledge is too dangerous for either of our races to possess."

"Glad to hear you say that, Selmak," Jack said.

The Tok'ra's head dipped again. "I'd say it would be best if we didn't let the other Tok'ra know that Daniel still possesses that knowledge," Jacob stated. "They'll just insist that he submit to the use of a memory recall device."

"Well, they could insist all they wanted, but it wouldn't do them any good," Jack declared. "And they can't even throw the Earth/Tok'ra alliance in our faces since you guys broke that off."

"Nevertheless, it would be best of they didn't even know."

"Agreed," said Hammond.

"So, is this the only reason for your visit, Dad?" Sam asked.

"No, I'm afraid not. After Anubis' defeat, the other System Lords decided to divide his armies and territories amongst themselves."

"Why, how very civilized of them," Daniel said sarcastically.

Jacob shrugged. "Every once in a while they surprise us."

"This would be a good thing, right?" Sam reasoned. "It means that no single Goa'uld will have all that power."

"Yes, it would have been the best thing we could have hoped for under the circumstances."

"I'm sensing a 'but' here," Jack said.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. Someone beat them to the punch. We don't know who it is, but somebody has taken over control of Anubis' drones and is attacking the System Lords."

"You have no idea who it is?" Daniel asked.

"We can only assume that it's one of the Goa'uld that was working for Anubis. Strangely for a Goa'uld, they're keeping a low profile."

"Except for the fact that they're kicking the butts of the System Lords," Jack pointed out.

"So, what does this mean?" Sam asked.

"While we're not sad to see the System Lords getting their butts kicked, we're concerned about what's going to happen once the Goa'uld butt-kicking stops," Jacob replied.

"Whoever it is might go looking for other butts to kick," Jack guessed.

"Exactly. Like I've said before, a single all-powerful Goa'uld is the worse thing that could happen. That's what we were afraid was going to happen with Anubis."

"So, what do you want _us_ to do?"

"We're hoping that you can find out who this Goa'uld is. Your alliance with the rebel Jaffa gives you a source of information that we no longer have. If we already knew who it was, I doubt I'd have come here, but the Tok'ra really don't like having a powerful Goa'uld out there somewhere that we know nothing about."

"We'll keep our ears to the ground, Dad," Sam assured him.

"And we can ask the Jaffa what they know about this," Daniel said.

"We'd appreciate that." Jacob got up from the table, as did everyone else.

"Do you have to leave right away?" Sam asked her father, wishing he could stay a while.

"I'm afraid so, Sam. With everything heating up like it is, the Tok'ra are going to be very busy."

SG-1 accompanied Jacob down to the gate room and watched him leave.

"Every time he leaves, I miss him," Sam said after her father was gone.

Daniel laid a comforting hand on her back. "He'll be back, Sam."

"Sure he will," Jack agreed.

The four teammates left the gate room, their thoughts on this new mystery, wondering what the answer would prove to be.


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"So, what do you think about this whole thing with the mystery Goa'uld?" Jack asked. He and his teammates were all gathered in Daniel's office.

"Well, the fact that he was able to take control of the drones either means that he was on the inside from the start and already knew how Anubis was controlling the drones or he's very smart and was able to figure it out for himself," Daniel replied.

Sam nodded. "We know that Anubis must have had scientists working for him. One of them may have been the person who devised the way to imprint the drones with their loyalty to Anubis. Once Anubis was gone, they might have decided this would be the perfect opportunity to grasp the power for themselves."

"It wouldn't be surprising," Daniel stated. "All Goa'uld have that desire for power, even those that are subservient to other Goa'uld."

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed. "There are those among the present System Lords who were once in service to another Goa'uld. Many times, a Goa'uld of lower station has risen to power by killing their master or by filling their master's position when he was killed by another."

Jack frowned. "So, some underling has decided to play with the big boys, huh."

"I just wish we knew who it was," Daniel said.

"Well, with their egos, you can bet that, sooner or later, he's gonna come forward and start trumpeting his own horn."

--------------------------------------------------

John Benedict picked up the weapon that lay upon the bed and carefully began to clean and examine it. He couldn't take the chance that the weapon would jam, especially not for this job.

This was not the first time that the assassin had been hired to kill the leader of a country, but it _was_ the first time that anyone had approached him about assassinating the leader of a country as powerful as the United States. Benedict knew that this would likely be the most dangerous job he'd ever do, but it would place him in the history books, though, if he did his job right, the history books would never have his name.

Three days had not been much time to plan a presidential assassination, but the inside information he'd been given had helped tremendously, especially the maps of the area and suggestions on where he could set up and have a clear line of sight of where the president would be. It was going to be a challenge, but he was confident that he would succeed. Benedict did not question who it was that wanted the president dead. That was none of his business. This was a job, nothing more, and he did not involve himself in politics.

The assassin's cell phone rang, alerting him that he had just received a text message. He read the message, which told him that an email had been sent to his laptop. He went to the computer and opened the email, which had a file attachment.

_"There has been a change of plans,"_ said the email. _"There is an additional target. Money has been wired to your account for the second target. It is vital that it appears that the second target is merely collateral damage. No one must guess that he was specifically targeted. If you must wound others to make it appear so, you are permitted to do that." _

Benedict scrolled down to the photograph included with the email. A handsome, brown-haired man wearing glasses was revealed. He memorized the face of the man, then destroyed the email, wiping all traces of it from his computer. He was mildly curious about who the second target was, but, as long as it didn't cause any problems, he really didn't care.

Soon, the U.S. would be minus a president, and he would be on a jet out of the country with the satisfaction of a job well done.

--------------------------------------------------

A light snow was falling as the helicopter flew over the Catoctin Mountains. The members of SG-1 looked out the windows at the terrain below. Since there were no ski lifts, there were few people around, only cross-country skiers, people going snowshoeing and the occasional family having fun in the snow.

Soon, they had arrived at their destination. SG-1 disembarked from the helicopter and were greeted by a Navy lieutenant, who led them into the presidential cabin, the Aspen Lodge.

President Hayes came forward with a smile. "Welcome to Camp David." He shook Daniel's hand first. "It's nice to see you again, Doctor Jackson."

"Likewise, sir."

Hayes went to Jack next. "Colonel O'Neill. It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

Jack shook the man's hand. "Not all of it good, I'm betting."

The president laughed. "Not everyone is a fan of mine either, Colonel. I always choose to make my own opinions of someone, not judge them by the opinions of others." He went to Sam and took her hand. "Major Carter. I can't tell you how much this country owes to you and your extraordinary skills."

"Thank you, sir."

Hayes stepped up to Teal'c. "And Teal'c. I hope you won't be offended if I say that you're the first alien I've ever met in person."

"I am not offended, Mister President, since it is the truth."

"I'm sure I speak for many when I say that I'm glad you chose to join our side. Your help has been invaluable."

The Jaffa inclined his head.

"So, everyone hungry?" Hayes asked all of them. "My cook has whipped up a very nice lunch for us."

Conversation during the meal was light, the president wanting to get to know his guests a little better. He seemed particularly impressed by the number of languages Daniel could speak and had the archeologist name them all.

After lunch, the group went to a comfortable lounge, where they were brought coffee, tea and other beverages.

"I'm guessing that you're all wondering why I invited you here," the president said. He went to a table and picked up four envelopes, handing one to each of them. "Those are official letters of commendation for your actions in saving Earth from Anubis. To be honest, they couldn't come close to thanking you for what you did. Every one of you displayed a level of heroism, perseverance and skill that few possess."

Surprised, SG-1 stared down at the envelopes.

"It would be impressive enough if this had been the first time that you saved this planet," Hayes continued, "but the fact that you've done so repeatedly makes your accomplishments nothing short of legendary. I want you to know that I am proud that you are all citizens of the United States of America, whether you were born here or," he looked at Teal'c, "unofficially adopted into this country."

"Thank you, Mister President," Jack said. This was not at all what he had been expecting.

"It's my pleasure, Colonel." Hayes smiled. "You might be wondering why I went to the trouble of bringing you out here instead of just mailing those commendations to you. I've been intending to give you those ever since the events in Antarctica, but my job has been just a little busy lately. I suddenly decided that you deserved to have them presented to you in person." He paused. "There is another reason as well, however." He focused his attention on Daniel. "Doctor Jackson, I think I can safely say that there isn't another civilian on the face of this planet that we owe more to. It would take hours to list every one of your accomplishments and every way that you have helped the people of Earth, not to mention human beings on other worlds. I know that it cannot come close to repaying you for all that you have done, but I am announcing to you that you are being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom."

Sam let out a sharp gasp. "Oh my God," she whispered.

An ear-to-ear grin split Jack's face as he was filled with pride. _'Yes! You're finally getting the recognition you deserve, Daniel.' _

Teal'c was delighted that Daniel was being given such an honor, one that he richly deserved.

As for Daniel, he was stunned speechless. He'd never considered that he'd be awarded the Medal of Freedom. He'd never even thought about it.

"I . . . I don't know what to say, sir," he said in a quiet, shocked voice.

Hayes smiled in understanding. "No words are necessary, Doctor Jackson. If it had been up to me, you'd already have a closet full of the things. And if it was also up to me, you would be receiving the Congressional Gold Medal as well, but that one isn't within my power to give. But I can assure you that if, for some reason, the Stargate Program goes public during my term, I will recommend to Congress that you be given one. Heck, I'll even recommend it to them if it happens _after_ my term."

Daniel's mind was whirling. He was also feeling rather embarrassed by the effusive praise. He had definitely not been prepared for this.

"Thank you, sir. I, um . . . thank you."

"No, Doctor Jackson. Thank _you_." Hayes walked toward the door of the lounge. "Now, if you'd all like to freshen up and relax for a while, one of the guest cabins has been prepared for you. Lieutenant Trask will take you there. He has been assigned the duty of being your aide during your stay."

The same man who met them at the helicopter showed them to the cabin. SG-1 saw that their luggage had already been taken there.

The moment the lieutenant was gone, Sam gave Daniel a big hug. "Oh, Daniel, I am so happy for you!" she exclaimed in delight.

Jack grinned broadly. "It's about time they gave you proper recognition for everything."

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed. "I am most pleased that you are being given this honor."

"Well, I'm just plain shocked," Daniel admitted. "This really isn't something I ever expected or even thought about."

"Which doesn't surprise me a bit," Jack said. "You deserve it, Daniel, _more_ than deserve it."

"I wonder how they're going to do it," Sam said. "The Medal of Freedom awards is public. They couldn't make Daniel's public."

"I guess it'll be a private ceremony," Jack determined. "It wouldn't surprise me if they have it at the SGC."

Daniel sat on the couch, still feeling rather stunned. "This isn't something I ever would have asked for, you know. I don't do all these things for recognition."

Sam sat beside him. "We know, Daniel."

Jack took a seat. "But don't you dare say that you don't deserve it. You heard the president. You should have enough of the doggone things to wallpaper your living room with. And it is too bad that you can't be given the Gold Medal, too. That would be sweet. There aren't many people who have both it and the Medal of Freedom."

"What is the Congressional Gold Medal, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked, never having heard of it.

"It's awarded by Congress," Sam explained. "It is considered to be an honor equal to the Medal of Freedom, given to a person who has perform an outstanding deed or act of service to the prosperity, security, or national interest of the U.S. It's been in existence a whole lot longer than the Medal of Freedom--since 1776, I think--but a lot less people have been awarded it. Every medal is unique, usually picturing the person it's awarded to."

"If everyone in Congress knew about the Stargate Program, I bet Daniel would get one," Jack stated, "that is if they could figure out how to keep it a secret."

Daniel stared at the carpet, once again embarrassed.

Jack clapped his hands together and got to his feet. "I am in the mood to celebrate. I wonder if they've got any champaign in this place."

"Probably not, sir," Sam responded, smiling.

As Sam had guessed, there was no champaign, but when Jack asked Lieutenant Trask if he could get some, the man assured him that they would have some at the lodge and called for someone to bring some.

Fifteen minutes later, Jack, Sam and Teal'c were giving a toast to an extremely embarrassed Daniel, the two humans with champaign, the Jaffa with sparkling cider.

Afterwards, the foursome went to investigate their cabin. Actually, "cabin" wasn't really an adequate word for the structure, which had four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a big kitchen--with a fully stocked refrigerator--and, to Sam's delight, a hot tub. The major was determined that she was not going to pass up the chance to use it. Fortunately, someone had thought to place various sizes of men's and women's bathing suits on a table near the hot tub, so the fact that she didn't bring a suit was not going to be a problem.

The teammates each chose a bedroom and unpacked their single change of clothing so that the stuff wouldn't get wrinkled. Daniel was looking out the window of his bedroom when Sam knocked on the door. He called for her to enter. The astrophysicist joined him at the window.

"I can't say that this is someplace I ever expected to spend a weekend," he told her.

"Me neither." Sam looked at him closely. "You do deserve that medal, you know. It's given for achievements over a lifetime, not for a single act."

Daniel smiled a little. "Sometimes, it does seem like these years with the program has been a lifetime."

Sam smiled, too. "Well, considering that you've died several times, you could almost say it's been _more_ than one lifetime."

After relaxing for a little while in the cabin, everyone decided to go exploring outside. Daniel and Sam went for a walk in the woods while Teal'c and Jack explored the area around the lodge. Fortunately, there wasn't so much snow on the ground that it made walking difficult.

Later that afternoon, they all got together with Hayes in the recreation room, where the president enjoyed watching Sam demonstrate her proficiency with a pool cue.

"So, anyone here play chess?" Hayes asked.

"The answer to that all depends on how good you are, sir," Jack replied.

"Oh?"

"If you're a good player, I'm your man. If you're a brilliant player, Daniel's the guy you want to go up against."

The president turned to the archeologist. "A chess master on top of everything else?"

"Not even close, sir," Daniel replied. "I can hold my own in a game, but I wouldn't win any tournaments."

"I've been playing against him for seven years, and I have yet to win a game," Jack informed Hayes. "Of course, if I'd known in the beginning that he started playing when he was five years old, I wouldn't have even bothered trying."

Daniel shrugged. "My dad had a set that he always took with him on digs. He taught me how to play."

"Uh huh, and why don't you tell the president how old you were when you started _beating_ your dad."

Daniel blushed faintly. "Um . . . seven."

Hayes laughed and lifted his hands. "You are way beyond my league, Doctor Jackson. I think I'll have a better chance with Colonel O'Neill."

Hayes and Jack enjoyed their game, which lasted almost until dinner. While they played, Teal'c and Sam took turns blasting aliens in an arcade game. Daniel had discovered the library and disappeared into it, which didn't surprise any of his teammates.

Everyone enjoyed dinner, the conversation being lively and friendly. As Hayes looked at the four people seated at the table with him, laughing and talking about ordinary things, it was hard to believe that they traveled to other planets, saving entire civilizations on a regular basis.

After dinner, everyone retired to the lounge to listen to music and talk some more.

"Um, Mister President, I hate asking you a favor, but. . . ." Daniel began.

"Doctor Jackson, I doubt that any favor you asked me would be too much for me to grant," Hayes responded.

Daniel told the president about the trouble he was having with the NID, Sam and Jack adding things here and there.

"And you want me to tell them to back off?" Hayes guessed.

"If you wouldn't mind, sir," Daniel said. "It's getting kind of irritating."

"Consider it done."

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate it."

It was ten o'clock when SG-1 returned to their cabin. They were all starting to get tired by then since they'd had to get up so early to catch their flight.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm ready to call it a night," Jack announced.

"Yeah, me too," Daniel said.

"I, too, will be retiring," Teal'c answered. "I wish to Kel'no'reem before I sleep."

"Not me," Sam said. "There's no way I'm going to pass up using that hot tub, even if it's just for a few minutes."

Jack started up the stairs to the bedrooms. "Just don't stay in too long. You'll get all wrinkled."

Saying goodnight to her teammates, Sam changed into one of the swimsuits and got into the tub with a deep, contented sigh. She'd only be in there for around ten minutes when she began getting sleepy. Not wanting to leave the tub so soon, she decided to stay a bit longer. A few minutes later, she was asleep.

Sam awoke with a start about an hour later, appalled that she'd fallen asleep.

"Well, that would be really stupid, wouldn't it, Sam. Risk your life on a daily basis fighting aliens, and you end up drowning in a hot tub."

She got out of the tub, dried off, and slipped into a robe, figuring that there was no point in getting dressed since she was going to bed. Just as Jack had warned, her hands and feet closely resembled prunes--not that she was ever going to tell _him_ that.

Clothes in hand, Sam headed upstairs. She was passing by Daniel's bedroom when she heard a faint, gasping cry. Concerned, she opened the door a crack.

"Daniel? You okay?" When there was no answer, she peeked in to see the archeologist sitting up in bed, breathing heavily. She came in the rest of the way. "What is it? Did you have a nightmare?"

"No. No, it wasn't a nightmare." Daniel looked up at her. "Something's wrong, Sam."

"You had a vision?"

"Yeah, but I couldn't make heads nor tails of it. But something is definitely up. I can sense it."

"And you have no idea what it is?"

"No. All I know is that there's some kind of danger."

"Maybe we'd better get the colonel."

"There's no point, Sam. I don't know what I'm being warned about. It could be something back at the SGC or maybe not even on Earth."

"If something big was happening at the SGC right now, they'd call us."

"If they could."

Sam fetched the cell phone out of the pocket of her coat and called the SGC control room. The man who answered said that everything was quiet.

"Okay, so nothing's happening there," she said as she hung up. "I guess all we can do is wait and see what happens."

"When we get back to the SGC, I'll try to see something more."

After Sam was gone, Daniel laid back down. He stared into the darkness, his sixth sense sending a constant tingle of warning through him. He didn't know what it was warning him of, but, whatever it was, he had a feeling it was going to happen soon.


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Benedict entered his hotel room. Making sure the Do Not Disturb sign was in place on the door, he shut and locked it, then went to the closet. He placed inside it a large backpack, which contained a parachute.

The HALO jump from the plane had gone perfectly. Flying at thirty thousand feet, the small jet was too far up for anyone on the ground to notice. The owner of the plane was someone Benedict had worked with before, a man who didn't care what he was being paid for just as long as he was paid well.

A veteran of hundreds of jumps, it was a simple thing for Benedict to land in the night-dark forests of Catoctin Mountain Park well within the boundaries of Camp David, yet not so close that one of the guards on patrol would hear him. He had then made his way to the location that the information he got told him would be the best place to set up. The weapon had quickly been set up within the branches of an evergreen, which concealed it perfectly.

Getting out of the area unseen had proven to be the hardest part, though, with an area that large, it was impossible to patrol every foot of it. He had then hiked several miles to where he left his car.

Fetching a large suitcase from the closet, Benedict took it to the bed and opened it. The next few minutes were spent setting everything up. Few people would have any idea what the equipment he was assembling could do. Fewer still would realize that it would enable Benedict to kill a man who was presently in a mountain lodge seventy-five miles away. When President Henry Hayes and the unknown second man died at 8 a.m. this morning, their assassin wouldn't be anywhere near them. By the time the Secret Service and other personnel stationed at Camp David realized the truth, Benedict would be long gone.

--------------------------------------------------

Sleep had not returned quickly to Daniel. He had lain awake for three hours before his tiredness finally dragged him back into the arms of Morpheus. The moment he woke up, his "spidey sense" began tingling like crazy, loudly and clearly telling him that something was very wrong.

He took a quick shower and hurried through his morning shave. As he left the bathroom, Sam was coming out of her bedroom, showered and dressed. The moment she saw him, she knew that his sixth sense was still warning him about something. They went downstairs together, seeing that Jack and Teal'c were already there.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked as soon as he caught sight of Daniel's expression.

"I don't know," the archeologist replied.

"He had a vision last night, but he couldn't tell what it was about," Sam explained.

"Something's going to happen, and I don't know what it is."

"Crap," Jack cursed. "Can't the galaxy take a few days off every now and then? Is it trouble here on Earth or out there?"

"I have no idea. All I know is that it's going to happen very soon."

"Soon? How soon? Like in five days, five hours, or five minutes?"

Daniel thought about it. "I don't think it's going to be in five minutes."

"So, maybe we can at least eat breakfast before we have to save the world again."

When SG-1 joined Hayes for the morning meal, he could tell that something was wrong. He questioned them about it, and Daniel explained his feeling.

"So, this thing you call a sixth sense, it doesn't always tell you exactly what's wrong?" the president asked.

"No, it usually doesn't. It's just an awareness of danger or something being wrong. Most of the time, it's only at the last instant that I suddenly know what the danger is, sometimes too late to do anything to stop it from happening."

"But you've seen visions of the future, and they've shown what was going on."

"Some of them have, others have been too vague or mixed up to be able to figure out what they were showing me. The dream I had last night was like that."

"It sounds like it would be very frustrating."

"Believe me, it is," Daniel responded. "I can control fire with perfect precision and can psychically catch an egg tossed in the air without breaking it, but, when it comes to this, I have little control."

"Well, whatever it is that your sixth sense is warning you about, I hope you figure it out in time to stop it."

The remainder of breakfast was eaten mostly in silence, none of the members of SG-1 in the mood for small talk. After the meal, they all gathered in the foyer. It was time to leave. Their luggage was already packed and sitting on the helicopter.

Hayes shook the hand of each of them.

"It's been a pleasure having you here," he said. "We'll have to do this again sometime."

"We'd like that, Mister President," Jack responded. "Maybe we can come in the summer next time. I'd like to check out the fishing in the area."

Hayes smiled. "I'm not a huge fan of the sport, but I have done a bit of it in my day."

"Well, maybe we can go fishing together someday, sir," Jack suggested.

"Maybe we can."

Hayes went with SG-1 outside. "Give my regards to George," he said. "I'll have to get him up here one of these days."

"We'll do that, sir," Jack assured him.

The members of SG-1 were turning away when Daniel was hit with a sudden and violent warning that flashed through his mind like a lightning strike. With a cry of warning, he dove for the president. At the same instant, the sound of a rifle shattered the morning stillness. Throwing his body in front of Hayes, Daniel knocked him to the ground as three shots rang out.

Doing what they were trained to do, the Secret Service men created a human barricade around the president, protecting him with their own bodies. Others pulled their weapons, eyes scanning for the shooter. Having no weapons, Jack, Sam and Teal'c had taken cover the best that they could.

Within seconds, navy and marine personnel were out into the woods to hunt down the person that had attempted to kill the president. Someone radioed the helicopter that had been waiting for SG-1, and it lifted into the air to begin an aerial search.

While all this was going on, the group around the president and Daniel drew back far enough for two agents to check on the men.

"Mister President! Are you injured?" one of them asked anxiously.

"No, I don't think so," Hayes answered, "though my back's gonna hate me tomorrow morning." He looked at the man who was lying next to him. "Are you all right, Doctor Jackson?"

"Mostly." Daniel rolled onto his back, and everyone saw that there was blood on his left arm.

"We need a medic!" yelled one of the Secret Service agents.

Upon hearing the cry, the other three members of SG-1 rushed over.

"Let us through!" Jack demanded. He, Sam and Teal'c pushed their way to the center of the protective circle.

"Damn," Jack cursed upon seeing the blood on Daniel.

"I guess we all know what the warning was about, huh," the archeologist said, grimacing as he clutched at his wounded arm.

"We need to get them inside," one of the Secret Service men said.

Keeping him covered, the men got the president inside to safety. Daniel was then gently helped inside and to a couch. His jacket was removed and his shirt pulled back to reveal the bullet wound, which was in the upper arm, just below his shoulder. There was both an entrance and exit wound, meaning that the bullet went straight through. Someone brought a towel over, which Jack used to staunch the flow of blood.

"I'd say this definitely proves I'm not Superman," Daniel said. "The bullet didn't bounce." He looked up at the president. "Are you all right, sir?"

"I'm fine, Daniel, thanks to you. You saved my life." Hayes smiled. "If you ever get tired of the SGC, I'd be delighted to make you my personal bodyguard."

"No thanks. It's too dangerous."

The president let out a chuckle.

A navy lieutenant came running up with a medical bag. He examined Daniel's arm, then cleaned and bandaged the wound, giving him some antibiotics and pain medication.

"The wound looks clean," he announced, "but he should still go to the hospital."

"I'll have my helicopter take him," the president.

"No," Daniel said. "I think I should stay here. You may need my help."

"You should go to the hospital, Daniel," Sam told him.

"Janet can take care of it when we get home."

Jack frowned at him. "Daniel, stop being so pig-headed."

"Jack, I have my reasons for staying, and, unless the president wants to tell everyone in this room about the program, I can't go into them here."

The other three members of SG-1 looked at each other, then at the president.

"We can go into the lounge," Hayes said. He turned to one of his men. "Go get Doctor Jackson a clean shirt."

"Sir, the White House needs to be informed of the assassination attempt," another man said.

Hayes met Daniel's eyes and clearly saw in them a message that he should wait on making that call. "Let's hold off on that a bit longer, Colonel Parks. I'll make the call myself in a bit."

A T-shirt was brought to Daniel. With some help from Sam, he put it on, trying to hide how much it hurt to do so. Apparently, he wasn't as good at hiding the pain as he'd hoped, because both she and Jack were frowning at him severely, clearly not happy at his refusal to go to the hospital.

The medic put Daniel's arm in a sling, then SG-1 and the president went into the lounge. Sam insisted that Daniel sit down. She settled on the couch beside him.

"Okay, so what's going on?" Jack asked him.

"They're not going to find the hit man out there," he replied.

"You mean he got away?"

"No, I mean he wasn't here at all, not when the shots were fired."

"How is that possible?" Sam asked.

"I don't know, but I'm sure that I'm right. Some of the things I saw in my dream are making sense now."

"The gun must have been fired by remote control, then."

Jack turned to the president. "Sir, you need to have your men look for the weapon. It'll be on some kind of stand and most likely hidden by foliage. And be sure to tell them not to touch it."

Hayes went out to relay the instructions, then came back in.

"You know, every president is aware of the danger of assassination," he said, "but I wasn't quite expecting it only a month into my term. I guess it didn't take me long to piss somebody off."

"There's more to it than that," Daniel said. "There's something somebody wants, and you're standing in the way . . . and I think we can all guess what that something is."

"The Stargate Program," the other three members of SG-1 said in unison.

"You think the program is the reason for this?" Hayes asked, sitting in a chair.

"Oh, yeah," Jack replied, "and I'm betting that rogue NID group is behind it." He met the president's eyes. "I'd also bet that a certain someone else is involved."

The president immediately knew to whom he was referring. "If that's true, Colonel, he _will_ be brought to justice."

"If the weapon is found, I might be able to get an ID on the assassin," Daniel said.

"You can do that, too?" Hayes asked in surprised.

The archeologist nodded. "It's how I found out who tried to have me killed." He then realized what he had just revealed. "Oh. Um. . . ."

"It's all right, Doctor Jackson. I already know."

"You do?"

"Yes. Someone we both know told me."

Daniel was pretty sure he knew who that someone was.

"Forgive me for asking, sir, but if you've known all this time, why haven't you done something?" Sam asked.

"Because there is no proof and because there's the issue of the program's secrecy. I assure you, Major, that I was just biding my time, waiting for the opportunity to do something about it."

"If our assumptions are correct, I believe that you will no longer be able to bide your time," Teal'c stated.

"I'm afraid you're right, Teal'c," Hayes admitted.

"Sir, I'd like to call General Hammond and let him know what's happened," Jack said.

"Of course."

The colonel walked away to the far side of the room and pulled out his cell phone.

"How's your arm?" Sam asked Daniel.

"I've had worse, a _lot_ worse, actually. On my scale of injuries, this barely even registers."

Hayes smiled slightly. "Yeah, but it still hurts like hell, doesn't it."

Daniel paused. "Um . . . yeah," he admitted reluctantly.

Jack returned a few minutes later. "Hammond agrees with us about who's behind this." He looked at Daniel. "And you're going to have hell to pay with Fraiser when we get back to the base. She happened to be in Hammond's office when I called and was not pleased that you refused to go to the hospital."

"Why did you have to tell her?" Daniel whined.

"Hey, the doc asked if anyone was hurt, and, when I told her about you getting shot, she asked if you were taken to a hospital. I couldn't very well lie to her."

"Great," Daniel grumbled. "Just what I need." He looked at the president. "Is it too late to take you up on your job offer?"

Hayes let out a laugh. "I've learned from experience, Daniel, that ticking off your doctor is not a wise thing to do. Just do whatever they tell you to, and, if you have to go against their orders, don't let them find out."

Smirking, Jack opened his mouth to say something, but Daniel pointed a finger at him, glaring.

"No remarks from the peanut gallery!" the archeologist said. "Besides, it's not like you're a shining example of listening to doctor's orders. Need I remind you about the time you were told to stay in bed, but didn't listen and had to be picked up off the floor by Teal'c?"

"How'd you know about that?!" Jack exclaimed. "You weren't even there."

Daniel smiled. "Oh, yes, I was. You just couldn't see me. I was out of phase, remember?"

Jack looked suitably embarrassed. "Oh."

Hayes shook his head in amusement. He was really becoming quite fond of these people.

Daniel's expression turned thoughtful. He looked down at his arm. "Maybe I won't have to suffer her wrath after all," he murmured. "Sam, take off the bandages."

Guessing immediately what he was planning on doing, the major complied.

Once the wound was uncovered, Daniel examined it. It was still bleeding and looked pretty ugly, but it was not serious.

Focusing his mind upon the injury, the archeologist closed his eyes, turning his healing ability upon his own body. Everyone watched as the wound closed and healed right before their eyes. In a matter of seconds, it was gone.

"Holy cow," Hayes murmured in awe. Even though he already knew that Daniel could do this, it was still incredible to see it happen.

Daniel's eye open. "That was a little harder than the cut on Sam's hand."

Sam got some napkins from the bar and wiped away the blood. Both the entrance and exit wounds were completely gone.

"Okay, so maybe you won't get stuck with the big needles after all," Jack said, happy to see that Daniel could, indeed, heal himself. This would definitely come in handy in the future.

"That's the plan," Daniel responded. "We'd better put the bandages back on, though. Otherwise, a few people out there are going to get a big surprise."

Sam wrapped his arm back up, and he put the sling on.

"Um, I suppose it's too much to hope that my coat can be salvaged," Daniel guessed.

"Not unless you can do the same thing to it," the president replied.

"Afraid not."

"Then I'd say we'll have to find you one to wear."

There was a knock on the door, and a marine entered with the news that the hit man had not been found, but that they were still looking for the weapon.

"That reminds me," Daniel said after the man was gone. "Someone needs to reschedule our trip back. I don't think we're going to be making our flight."

Sam looked at her C.O. "Any idea when we'll be heading back to Colorado, Colonel?"

"What are your plans, sir?" Jack asked the president.

"I intend to return to the White House once they've found that weapon and the forensics boys and Doctor Jackson have a chance to look at it."

Jack nodded and turned back to Sam. "Schedule a flight for this afternoon, Carter."

"Yes, sir."

A few minutes after the flight was rescheduled, someone came in to tell them that the weapon had been found. A forensics team was already on their way and would be there within a few minutes.

"Okay, Daniel. Let's see if you can find out who the guy is," Jack said.

"Good luck, Doctor Jackson," Hayes said, "though I'm guessing that you don't really need it, not for this."

"Thank you, sir."

Daniel and his teammates left the lounge, intent on finding the identity of a killer.

--------------------------------------------------

Robert Kinsey was having a hard time keeping himself from pacing. It was important that he not look nervous or tense. But why was it taking so long for the phone call? The assassination was supposed to be done at eight o'clock, which was when SG-1 was planning on leaving to catch their flight. Within moments of the president's death, the vice president should have been called, but there hadn't been one word from Camp David.

Just then, the phone rang.

"It's about time," Kinsey muttered. He picked up the receiver, preparing to sound shocked and horrified at the news of the president's death. Shocked and horrified were definitely the emotions he felt upon hearing the voice on the other end of the line.

"Hey, Bob," said Hayes. "There's been a bit of an incident here. Someone tried to shoot me."

It took Kinsey several seconds to regain his composure. "That's distressing news, Mister President. Any idea who it was?"

"We don't know who the shooter was yet, but we're working on it."

"Was . . . anyone hurt?"

"There was an injury, but everybody's fine."

Kinsey started mentally cursing up a blue streak. Not only had the assassin not gotten Hayes, he didn't get Jackson either. The incompetent idiot!

"Needless to say, I'll be coming back to the White House sooner than planned," Hayes said.

"Of course, sir. Do you want me to inform everyone about what happened?"

"You can pass on the news to the staff there, but I'll take care of everyone else."

After hanging up the phone, Kinsey leapt from his chair and went to the window, fighting not to scream in frustration. Every plan, every step taken to get control of the Stargate had failed or been thwarted, and, almost every time, one or more of SG-1 had been to blame. Kinsey had no doubt that such was the case this time, too. In fact, he was positive that Jackson was the one who screwed things up this time. Those damn abilities of his. If the people in the organization had just listened to him in the first place, Jackson would have been dead long ago, and they'd now have control of the Stargate.

Angrily, Kinsey logged onto his computer and got online. He opened the Webmail service he used for all correspondence with his contacts in the organization and for other less than legal business dealings. He began composing an email to the assassin.

_"What the hell happened?"_ he wrote. _"Not only didn't you get the president, you also missed the second target. I want an explanation." _

Kinsey sent off the email. He then deleted the copy of it from his Sent box and emptied the Trash folder. After logging off, he went to his browser history and erased the visit to the Webmail service from it. The final thing he did was clear his cookies. These were all things he had learned to do after Colonel Maybourne got into his computer and found all the proof anyone would need that Kinsey was working with the NID.

That thought brought another one to Kinsey's mind, one that sent fear rushing through him. What if they figured out that he was involved in the assassination attempt? He'd covered his tracks, but that wouldn't stop Jackson from using his abilities. Would it be possible for the archeologist to divine something?

Kinsey recalled what happened when _he_ was almost assassinated. The people behind it framed Jack O'Neill for the shooting. Something like that could be done again. Perhaps they could frame General Hammond as the person who hired the hit man. Some might question why Hammond would want the president dead, but evidence could be planted giving a motive. And this would succeed in getting Hammond out of the SGC. Kinsey would just have to convince Hayes that, because of his friendship with the general, O'Neill could not be trusted to take over command.

Convinced that this would be the perfect solution, Kinsey called his contact.

"The attempt failed," he said.

"How?"

"I don't know. The president didn't tell me any details. We need to do some damage control. I think it would be best to frame someone for the attempted assassination."

"For what purpose? We were careful not to reveal who we were to the hit man, and I'm seriously hoping that you did, too."

"Yes, I was careful. He has no idea who I am."

"Then what would be the point in framing someone? There's the danger that a frame-up could lead a smart investigator right to us."

Kinsey realized that he couldn't tell them about his fears of Jackson finding out the truth. They didn't know that the archeologist was there, so they weren't aware of the danger.

"I think that this could be another opportunity to get rid of Hammond," he said instead. "Frame him for it."

"General Hammond would have no motive to kill Hayes, and anything we contrived would be too flimsy. Besides, if we involve Hammond in this, we'd also involve Doctor Jackson, and, considering his abilities, that would not be smart."

Kinsey couldn't help but see the irony in the man's statement.

"It would be best just to leave things alone unless we have no choice but to take action," the man stated. "We will contact the hit man to find out what went wrong."

"I've already done so. I should be getting a reply from him within a few hours."

"Let us know what he says."

Kinsey disconnected the call, not knowing what he should do. If Jackson saw something that revealed his part in the assassination attempt, all he could do was deny it and say that the archeologist was lying and trying to frame him. After all, claims of a psychic vision was not hard evidence.

Knowing that there was nothing more he could do, Kinsey left the office to play the part of the outraged and concerned vice president.


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The rifle had been found sitting several feet up in a pine tree. A member of the forensics team scaled the tree to examine everything for fingerprints and other trace evidence, but nothing was found. The stuff would all be taken to the lab for closer examination.

Daniel and the rest of SG-1 were waiting as the rifle and the device it was mounted on were lowered to the ground. Sam took a close look at them.

"Well, there's the camera and the transmitter for sending the video feed to the monitoring equipment," she said.

"What's that thing it's mounted on?" Jack asked.

Sam studied it closely. "I'm not sure, sir, but, if I had to make a guess, I'd say it's a remotely controlled arm used for aiming the rifle. It makes sense. Firing a gun remotely, you couldn't always count on your target stepping into the rifle's line of fire. You'd have to have a way to move the weapon."

"So, he used the video feed to show him where the president was, then aimed the rifle with that thing. The video feed probably has targeting crosshairs, like a scope."

"Most likely. This is quite a set-up, sir, something I'd imagine our government developing."

"For all we know, they did. So, what this means is that the shooter could have been anywhere."

Sam shook her head. "The range on that transmitter is limited. I'd guess that he was probably in DC somewhere."

"Since he failed to get his target he may still be there." Jack looked at Daniel. "So, you ready to do your thing?"

Daniel nodded. Not wanting to get his fingerprints on the rifle, he asked Sam to put a latex glove on the hand of the arm that wasn't in a sling. He then touched the weapon and closed his eyes. Images flashed through his mind of a brown-eyed man in his mid to late fifties. He saw a jet, someone jumping out of it, and then the parachutist landing in a forest at night.

As the images faded away, Daniel opened his eyes. "He parachuted in. He was wearing night vision goggles and something that looked like an oxygen mask."

"HALO jump," Jack said. "High Altitude Low Opening. You jump from a very high altitude, then wait until you're close to the ground before opening your chute. It's a tactic used a lot in the military. I get the distinct feeling that our shooter is military-trained."

"Parachuting in would make sense," Sam remarked. "Weighed down with all that equipment, it would be difficult to get here by foot, especially with all the security measures in place around the area."

"I think this confirms our suspicions about who was involved in this. The assassin _had_ to have inside information. He knew right where to go for the best place to set this weapon up." Jack turned back to Daniel. "See anything else?"

"I know what he looks like."

"Sweet. We'll hook you up with a sketch artist. I suppose you didn't get a name."

"No, afraid not."

"Well, this is a lot more than we would have had without you. We need to find out what planes were flying in this area last night. I'm guessing it was last night that this was set up."

Daniel nodded. "And I can probably tell you exactly when."

"When you had the dream?" Sam guessed.

"Yeah."

"Okay, let's go back to the lodge and fill in the president," Jack said.

It turned out that one of the navy personnel stationed there had some art training, so they didn't have to wait for a sketch artist to be brought in. With Daniel's precise description of the hit man, they were able to create a good sketch of the man. The archeologist also gave them the man's coloring and his approximate height, weight, and age.

Hayes shook the archeologist's hand. "Thank you, Doctor Jackson. Not only did you save my life, the information you've given us may enable us to catch the assassin."

"I'm glad I could help, sir."

"Well, I have to get back to DC, and I believe you four have a flight home to catch." Hayes smiled. "I have to say that this was probably the most memorable weekend I'll ever spend here."

"It was quite the weekend for us, too, sir," Jack said.

Hayes said goodbye to SG-1. With an army of Secret Service surrounding him, he got into his helicopter and flew off. A short while later, he was back at the White House. The second he walked in the door, he was besieged by a dozen staff members, every one of them asking if he was all right and wanting to know what information there was about the assassination attempt. Hayes told them that he was fine, and they'd be filled in as soon as possible. The president then went to the Oval Office, where he was joined a short while later by the vice president.

"I'm relieved that you're all right, Mister President," Kinsey said. If Hayes hadn't known better, he'd almost believe that the man was being truthful.

"So am I, Bob. I wouldn't be if it wasn't for Doctor Jackson. He sensed the danger just in the nick of time and pushed me out of the way. Hit got hit by a bullet that was meant for me."

Hope blossomed within Kinsey. Maybe there was a chance that the archeologist would die after all. "Is it serious?"

"No, he was hit in the arm. But, even if it had been serious, he'd probably have been okay. He healed himself right in front of my eyes. It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen."

Kinsey blinked in shock. "Healed himself?"

"Oh, that's right. You haven't read that report, have you. It seems that Doctor Jackson has the ability to heal injuries in himself and others, a little something left over from the download of all that Ancient knowledge."

The news that Jackson had yet another psychic ability did not go over well with Kinsey, though he tried his best to hide it.

"Also thanks to Doctor Jackson, we have a description of the shooter and know how he got into Camp David."

Kinsey was starting to get really nervous. "Any idea on who hired him?"

Hayes studied the vice president closely. He and SG-1 had agreed that it would be best if Kinsey didn't know that he was under suspicion, at least not yet.

"Not yet, but with what we have, we just might be able to figure this out and catch the ones responsible," the president replied.

Kinsey relaxed. He knew that, even if they caught the assassin, there would be no tracks leading back to him. If things started heating up, he would have to get rid of the cell phone, but he would hold off on doing that. Right now, he needed to keep in touch with his contacts, and he wouldn't have the opportunity to set up another cell phone number registered under a fake identity. Things around here were going to be touchy for the next few weeks.

--------------------------------------------------

Benedict stared in shock at the news report of the assassination attempt. The sketch of a face was being shown, the man identified as the possible assassin. It was his face. How could anyone have identified him? Not a soul had seen him at Camp David or anywhere near there.

Benedict was now very grateful that, years ago, he'd chosen to have plastic surgery so that he could not be identified through his military record.

Knowing that if the motel clerk was watching the news, he might be identified, Benedict quickly packed up and left, leaving the key for the room on the dresser. Fortunately, he had already wiped down everything, so there was no danger of leaving fingerprints behind. As for DNA, no one would be able to ID him from his DNA since he had no criminal record, and his military career was from before they began keeping DNA records.

As he drove away from the motel, the assassin began wishing that he'd left the country as originally planned. Whenever a hit was successful, he always left the country immediately, if possible, but when the hit was not successful, he would stay until he received further instructions from the person who hired him, as long as it wasn't too dangerous to do so. Since he had believed he was safe, he had chosen to stay. Now, everything had changed.

Benedict stopped at a gas station and went into the bathroom. There, he proceeded to change his appearance. He put on a fake moustache and beard and blue contact lenses. This would do for now. As soon as he had an opportunity, he would add some latex to his nose and dye the grey out of his hair to change his appearance even more.

The next thing Benedict did was dump the car. There was a chance that someone at the rental agency would remember him. Before getting rid of the vehicle, he thoroughly cleaned it so that no evidence would be left behind. He left the car in an area where it would likely not be noticed for quite a while, then walked to where he could catch a bus. After renting a new car under a different identity, he retrieved his luggage from where he'd stashed it.

Going to an Internet café, Benedict logged on to get his email. He read the angry message asking him what happened. He was displeased by the tone of the message, finding it to be unprofessional. He sent a reply to that email, but also sent an email to the other address he had for the ones who hired him. Now, all he had to do was wait for those who hired him to respond.

--------------------------------------------------

By the time SG-1 got back to Colorado, news of the attempted assassination was all over the radio and TV. The president was scheduled to have a press conference at 7 p.m. Mountain Time, and the team wanted to be sure to watch it.

SG-1 went straight to Hammond's office. The general came forward and laid a hand on Daniel's shoulder.

"You did good, Son," he said softly.

"Thank you, sir."

"Colonel O'Neill said that you were shot in the arm."

Daniel looked down at his left arm. Once they arrived at Dulles, he had removed the sling and the bloody bandages since there was no longer any reason to wear them.

"I was, sir, but I'm fine now."

"He healed himself, General," Jack informed Hammond.

Surprise colored the general's face. "That's good to hear. I'm sure that ability will come in handy in the future."

Jack looked at Daniel, smirking slightly. "There's no doubt of that, sir."

Hammond returned to his seat. "Colonel, you said that you're pretty certain Vice President Kinsey is behind this."

"Yes, sir, him and those rogue NID guys."

"But there is no proof to back this up?"

"I'm afraid not, General," Sam admitted. "Maybe if they catch the hit man, they'll be able to get something from him."

"If Kinsey was an idiot like before, he'll have something on his computer," Jack said.

"But they can't go looking on his computer without revealing that he's a suspect, which the president doesn't want to do yet," Sam stated.

"I'm afraid that this must be left in the hands of the president and the investigators, at least for the present time," Hammond told the teammates. "Consider yourselves off-duty for the rest of the day, SG-1." He looked at Daniel. "Doctor Fraiser is expecting you in the infirmary, Doctor Jackson."

The archeologist let out a groan, which made the others smile. They accompanied him to the infirmary.

When Janet saw him come in without a sling, her frown got even deeper.

"You. Sit," she commanded firmly, pointing at an exam table, her tone making it clear that she was _not_ happy.

"Janet, I--" Daniel began.

"Now."

Daniel hesitated, then went over to the table.

"Take off your shirt," the doctor then ordered.

"Janet, there's no--"

"Save your excuses for later," Janet told him.

The archeologist sighed softly and took off his shirt. Janet stared in puzzlement at the smooth, flawless skin of his arms. She turned to Jack.

"You told me he was shot in the arm."

"He was," the colonel confirmed.

"This is what I was trying to tell you," Daniel said. "I healed myself. The wound's gone."

Surprised, Janet stared at him for a few seconds, then thoroughly examined the place he had been shot. "You're sure that the bullet is not still in there?" the doctor asked.

"There was an exit wound," Sam replied.

"Even so, I'm going to take some x-rays to make sure something wasn't left behind and that no bones were damaged."

The x-rays were clean, no sign of anything that shouldn't be there.

"Everything appears to be all right, but I'm still not happy that you refused to go to the hospital, Daniel," Janet said.

"There were things that I needed to tell the president about the shooting," Daniel explained, "and I also knew that there was a good chance I'd be able to get information about the assassin from the weapon. I decided that catching the person who tried to kill the president was a lot more important than going to the hospital for a gunshot would in the arm that had already been treated by a medic."

Janet met his gaze for a long moment, then let out a sigh. "I guess I can't argue with that. Just don't do it again, or you _will_ be sorry."

"I won't . . . unless I have to."

Janet frowned at him severely, thinking that maybe she could dream up a whole slew of annoying tests to subject Daniel to. And then there were the various vitamin shots and inoculations she could make him suffer through.

The doctor sighed mentally, knowing that she wasn't mean enough to do that to him.

"Can I go home now?" Daniel asked.

"Since there appears to be nothing wrong with you, I see no point in keeping you here," Janet responded. She focused her sharp gaze on Daniel. "But if you have any pain or other symptoms, I want you back in here right away."

SG-1 went to Daniel's house, picking up some dinner on the way. They had just finished eating when the time for the press conference came. Daniel turned on the TV and tuned it to one of the network stations.

There was a brief introduction, then the president came on.

"As you all know, this morning at eight o'clock, an unknown individual attempted to assassinate me. Investigators are now seeking to find the people responsible for this."

After saying a few more words, the president started answering questions from the press, some of which he couldn't answer with complete candidness, such as the one about how they knew what the shooter looked like. Hayes told the press that it was obtained through a source that preferred to remain nameless. He did not say anything about having a suspect for who ordered the hit.

Once the press conference was over, Daniel shut off the TV.

"All I can say is that they'd better find some proof that Kinsey had a hand in this," Jack said. "First, he tries to have Daniel killed, and, now, the president. That man is way too dangerous to be allowed to stay free."

Jack, Sam and Teal'c stayed for an hour longer, then left. Not having slept well the previous night, Daniel decided to go to bed early. As he lay in bed, a feeling came over him that this was far from over. Something else was going to be happening, something big.

Getting no premonition of impending danger, Daniel decided not to let the feeling bother him. With a sigh, he closed his eyes slowly slipped into sleep.

--------------------------------------------------

It had been three days since the failed assassination attempt, and Kinsey was in an extremely foul mood. Hayes was pushing forward with his plans to give Daniel Jackson the Medal of Freedom, and there was nothing the vice president could do or say that would change the man's mind. Even if there had been before, there most certainly wouldn't be now, not since Jackson risked his own life to save the president's. Hayes had become one of the archeologist's biggest fans. It was enough to make Kinsey want to scream.

The assassin had replied to the vice president's email with the explanation that he had failed to hit the president because Jackson unexpectedly pushed Hayes down, covering him with his own body. The hit man then revealed that his second shot _did_ hit its target, but not in the intended location. So, the bullet that struck Jackson hadn't been meant for the president after all; it had been the one intended to kill the archeologist. Unfortunately, it failed to do so. Wanting to make sure that the assassin knew that he'd failed twice, Kinsey emailed him back, saying that the second target only received a minor wound.

As soon as he was able to do so, the vice president called his contact and told him that the hit man said he missed because Hayes suddenly bent over at the very moment the shot was taken. This was the story that the president told the press when they asked. Though he wanted to give credit to Jackson for saving his life, it would lead to too many questions about why the archeologist was at Camp David.

When Kinsey asked his contact what they were going to do now, the man said that he would be told about their plans when the time was right.

Since then, Kinsey hadn't had time to do much of anything, not even checking his email for any other messages from the hit man. The investigation was in full swing, and he had to keep a close eye on it to make sure the trail wasn't leading to him or the organization. He did so under the guise of a concerned vice president who wanted to see the perpetrators caught.

Government, military, and criminal records, both in the U.S. and internationally, had been searched for someone matching the assassin's description, but, so far, he hadn't been identified. However, the clerk for a cheap motel in one of the seamier areas of DC had called to report that he recognized the face of the assassin. A team was immediately sent there, but, of course, the assassin was long gone. The forensics team had gone over the room and came away with fingerprints and DNA samples, but it was unlikely that any of the prints belonged to the hit man. He was too professional to leave behind that kind of evidence. None of the prints had been ID'd yet, with the exception of those that belonged to the maid.

Kinsey had wondered why the assassin picked that kind of motel until one of the investigators pointed out that such motels were better for keeping a low profile since the clerks made a habit of not paying much attention to the people who checked in, which was often a man in the company of a prostitute. They were lucky that this one had paid enough attention to recognize the sketch on TV.

Also being sought was a pilot named Job Norris. The investigators had determined that only one plane flying in the area the night before the assassination attempt could have been the one from which the hit man had parachuted. Norris had avoided capture by the team that was sent to arrest him at his home and was now a fugitive.

Today, Kinsey was scheduled to talk to a civil rights organization that was making noises about some of the new policies that the president was hoping to implement. The vice president would rather have cancelled the thing, but Hayes didn't see any reason to do so. After all, it wasn't Kinsey that someone was trying to kill.

The vice president and his retinue of bodyguards entered the auditorium and walked up onto the stage. Kinsey glanced over and saw that his speech notes were in place on the lectern. He always preferred not to step onto a podium with his notes in his hands, so he usually had them placed on the lectern ahead of time.

Taking his seat, the vice president waited to be announced. As far as he was concerned, this was a waste of time. So what if a bunch of civil rights liberals were ticked off that the president had plans they didn't like? The organization wasn't big enough or influential enough to put a stop to anything. Taking the time to try and appease them was not necessary. But the decision was not his to make. Kinsey swore that, someday, he'd be the one making the decisions.

At last, Kinsey was introduced to the crowd. With a smile he tried to make look genuine, the vice president stood and went to the lectern.

He began his speech, which he thought his writer had done a pretty good job of crafting. If the idiots couldn't see reason after he was finished, it would be no fault of his.

Reaching the end of the first page of his speech, Kinsey lifted it to set aside, but froze, the sheet of paper still in his hand. What had been revealed was not the second page of his speech. Instead, it was a short note with only three words on it: "You were warned."

It took only one second for Robert Kinsey to figure out the meaning of the note. In the next second, he realized that he'd made a terrible mistake and his life was in danger.

In the second after that, a single gunshot rang out.

--------------------------------------------------

The four members of SG-1 approached Hammond's office. The general had ordered them to come see him immediately.

"What's up, sir?" Jack asked as soon as they arrived and saw the grave expression of Hammond's face.

"Vice President Kinsey has been assassinated."

"What?!" exclaimed the three human members of the team.

"How?" Daniel asked, stunned.

"He was shot while giving a speech to a civil rights group."

"Forgive me for saying this, sir, but are we sure he's really dead this time?" Jack asked, recalling the last time Kinsey was supposedly assassinated.

"Yes, Colonel. There's no doubt of it. He was hit in the chest and bled to death in front of hundreds of witnesses."

Everyone was silent for a few seconds.

"Did they catch the hit man?" Daniel asked quietly.

"No, and this is the reason why the president contacted me right away. The Secret Service agents with the vice president figured out immediately that the shot came from a control booth above the auditorium. When they got there, they found a set-up similar to the one used in the attempt to kill President Hayes."

"Then this means that the same guy pulled the trigger," Jack concluded.

"Yes, it does," Hammond agreed.

"But why?" Daniel wanted to know. "If Kinsey was in on the attempted assassination of the president, why did the people he's in league with kill him?"

"When they tried to kill him before, it was because they considered him a liability." Jack replied. "I'd guess it was the same reason this time."

"You may be right, Colonel," Hammond said, "although there could be more to it than that. Someone apparently planted a note in the vice president's speech. It said, 'You were warned.'"

"Warned? About what?" Sam asked.

"That is something we don't know." Hammond looked at Daniel. "Doctor Jackson, the president wants you to come to the White House."

"Me? How come?"

"He's hoping that if you touch a few things in Kinsey's office, you might be able to see something that would give us a clue about who these people are and what this is all about."

"Are all of us invited, sir?" Jack asked, not wanting Daniel to go alone.

"Yes, you are, Colonel. The president already figured that you'd want to come with Doctor Jackson."

"So, another lovely commercial flight to DC, huh."

"Not this time. You'll be taking a flight out of Peterson. The president wants you in DC as soon as possible. So, go home, pack an overnight bag, and get to Peterson."

"Yes, sir," the colonel said.

"Oh, there is one more thing. Kinsey managed to say a few things before he died, most of which were pleas for help. But there was one thing that the Secret Service men made particular note of because he said it twice."

"What's that, sir?" Sam asked.

"The Trust."

--------------------------------------------------

Benedict casually packed his bags. There was no need to rush since he knew that no one would be identifying him this time. The disguise he'd worn at the auditorium when he set up the weapon had completely changed his appearance. The description anyone gave would be that of a blond-haired, heavyset man.

The assassin was satisfied by the success of his most recent contract. He was certain that the target was dead. His aim had been true.

He thought about what had happened since sending off those two emails three days ago. The one he'd sent in reply to the question about what went wrong with the hit was responded to with yet another angry message, which didn't surprise him. What _did_ surprise him was the reply to the other email he'd sent at the same time, the one to his original contact. The email had asked what he was talking about when he referred to a second target, making it clear that the person knew nothing about Benedict's instructions to kill that other man. The conversation that followed led the hit man to believe that the person who ordered the second hit had not done so with the approval of all parties involved.

The last email Benedict received told him that there was a new target: the vice president. He was provided with all the information he needed to make the hit. There had been one unusual request, however. His contact had told him to leave a note where Vice President Kinsey would find it and had given explicit instructions that Benedict was not to kill the man until after the note had been read.

That note made Benedict guess that the person who told him to kill that other man had been none other than the vice president. The hit man didn't know the whole story behind it, but it appeared that Vice President Kinsey had wanted the second man dead, but the others didn't. They had apparently warned Kinsey to leave the man alone, and he chose to disobey them. His disobedience cost him his life.

Finishing his packing, Benedict loaded everything into his car. He drove to an alley and dumped all of the equipment into a trash dumpster. He disliked doing it because of the expense involved in replacing it, but it had to be done. He also got rid of anything else that might cause suspicion, including the parachute and his makeup kit. The airport would be crawling with authorities looking for him, and chances are that airport security would be examining more luggage than they normally did. He couldn't take the chance that his would be among the ones opened.

Keeping only his clothes and laptop, Benedict drove to the rental agency and turned in the car. There, he awaited a taxi to take him to the airport.

The taxi driver was one of those idiots who apparently believed that, if he tried his level best to break the sound barrier on the way to the airport, he'd get a bigger tip from his passenger. He was in for a rude awakening. Benedict never tipped.

They were weaving in and out of traffic like a drunken man on a ship caught in a storm when the idiot driver decided to shoot through a light that was just about to turn red. Benedict yelled out a warning, but it was too late. The light turned red when they were still about two car lengths from the intersection, too close for the driver to stop at the speed he was traveling.

Benedict heard the loud blaring of a horn and the sound of squealing brakes. He looked out the window to see a truck heading right toward them.

The sound of breaking glass, crumpling metal and a cry from the taxi driver were the last things John Benedict heard.


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Considering that there had been an attempted assassination of the president and a successful assassination of the vice president, it did not surprise SG-1 that they were subjected to an extra thorough search before they were allowed to enter the White House.

"Sorry about the frisking," Hayes apologized. "Everyone around here is kind of paranoid right now."

"That's understandable," Jack said.

The president turned to Daniel. "Thank you for agreeing to come out here. I don't know if it'll do any good, but since the investigators have had no luck finding out who was behind this, I figured it was worth a try to let you have a crack at it. I thought about checking Bob's computer myself, but decided to wait till you got here."

"I hope I can help, sir," Daniel told him.

SG-1 and the president went to Kinsey's office. Figuring it was the best place to start, Daniel went to the desk. He laid his hand upon it and closed his eyes, focusing his ability. Scenes marched though his mind, bits and pieces of the past month of Kinsey's life. Daniel tried to control them, to limit them to what he was seeking, but he was only partially successful. And then a single scene popped into his mind, one that made him gasp and jerk out of the vision.

"Daniel?" Sam inquired. "You okay."

"Um . . . yeah, I guess so, as okay as I could be after hearing someone talk about murdering me."

"What did you see?"

"Kinsey was arguing with someone on a cell phone, insisting that I needed to be killed to prevent me from finding out who they were. From the little I saw, the person he was talking to said no."

"Hmm. _That's_ interesting," Jack said. "So whoever Kinsey was in bed with, they didn't want you dead."

"But that must mean that it was Kinsey alone who arranged that hit on Daniel," Sam reasoned.

"I got another image of him sending someone a text message," Daniel said. "I think it wasn't all that long ago." He looked down at one of the drawers. "It's in there."

"What is?" Jack asked.

"The cell phone."

Jack immediately tried the drawer, but found it locked. "Anybody got a key for this thing?"

"I can get in, sir," Sam told him.

"Um, I'm not up on all the legal stuff, but shouldn't this be done a little more . . . officially?" Daniel asked.

Hayes nodded. "Good thinking, Doctor Jackson. We wouldn't want some slick lawyer to get anyone off because the evidence was thrown out of court."

The president requested that one of the men leading the investigation come to the office. He was presently at the White House, questioning people.

The man, whose name was Philip Harrison, arrived a few minutes later and was introduced to SG-1.

"We have reason to believe that there is evidence in that drawer," Hayes said. "The drawer is locked, but Major Carter here was just about to pick the lock."

"Since this is, technically, your house, Mister President, that shouldn't be a problem," Harrison said.

It didn't take Sam long to get into the drawer. She stood back to let the investigator look inside. He slipped on a pair of latex gloves and picked up the cell phone everyone else already knew was inside.

"May I?" Sam asked. "I already kind of know what we're looking for."

Harrison gave her a pair of gloves, which she put on. He then handed her the phone. She went straight to where the record of sent text messages would be.

"There's a message here telling someone to check their email. It's the last one that was sent." Sam looked at everyone. "It was sent three days before the assassination attempt at Camp David."

All eyes went to the computer.

"He couldn't have been _that_ stupid, could he?" Jack asked. "What am I saying? Of _course_ he could."

They went to the computer, and Sam booted it up. Not surprisingly, a screen came up asking for a password.

"Try Oscar," Jack said, remembering the password Kinsey used last time. Unfortunately, it failed. "Okay, so he wasn't a _complete_ idiot. He changed his password." Jack looked at Hayes. "Any idea what it might be, sir?"

"None, I'm afraid."

"Try Mozart," Daniel said.

Not questioning how he knew the password, Sam tried it and found it to be the right one.

"How did you know that?" Harrison asked.

"Lucky guess," Daniel replied.

Hayes smiled slightly. "Bob's favorite composer was Mozart."

Sam went straight to Kinsey's email client, but found no suspicious email messages in any of the folders, not even the trash.

"Well, if he used this computer, either he deleted all of the messages or he used Webmail," she said.

"Webmail? You mean like Hotmail?" Jack asked.

"Yes, sir. I'm guessing that's what he did. I don't think that even Kinsey would be dumb enough to send messages to a hit man using an email address that can so easily be traced back to him."

"So, if he used one of those Webmail things, how do we find out which one?"

"With many of the Webmail services, you can easily enter in bogus information so that no one knows who the email address really belongs to. However, when someone creates an email account, the Webmail service records their IP address. We could request the records of all the most popular services and see if any of them have Kinsey's IP address associated with one of the email addresses."

"That could take a while," Harrison said, "although having the request come from the president would speed things up considerably."

"Well, I could always hack into their records," Sam said.

"No, don't. We need to makes sure that anything we find is admissible in court." The investigator turned to Hayes. "With your permission, sir, I'll get busy on this."

"Sure, Phil."

Harrison got the IP address from Sam, then left the room.

"Carter?" Jack said.

"I'm on it, sir." Sam got her laptop. It had almost been confiscated by the men who searched SG-1, but the president had told them to let her keep it.

"Am I correct in assuming that we're not waiting for legal access to those records?" Hayes asked, amused.

"I don't think we should, sir," Jack replied. "We need to jump on this as quickly as possible. But don't worry. No one but us will ever know Carter did this. She's very good at covering her tracks."

Sam got busy hacking into the first Webmail service she chose to try. She was going to try the biggest ones first, then, if that yielded nothing, she'd go on to some of the lesser known ones.

As luck would have it, she struck pay dirt on the second one she tried.

"There it is," she said.

"Okay, now what?" Jack asked.

"Now that we have the email address, we go to the login screen and enter it in. I'm going to assume Kinsey used the same password as he did for his computer."

Sam's assumption proved to be right, and they were soon in Kinsey's mailbox.

"What's this?" Sam murmured.

"Find something?" Jack asked.

"It's a failure notice saying that an email couldn't be delivered. It's possible that the email service for the recipient was temporarily down. This could be a big break for us, especially since I can see that previous emails are quoted in the one that couldn't be delivered." Sam started reading the email, beginning with the earliest dated message at the bottom. After just a few seconds, she let out a gasp. "Oh my God."

"What?" Jack came around to look at what Sam was reading. When he read it himself, he started cursing. "That slimy little snake. And I mean that in the _worse_ possible way."

"What is it?" Daniel asked.

Sam met his eyes. "The president wasn't the only person who was supposed to die last Sunday, Daniel."

It didn't take the archeologist long to figure out who the other target was. "Oh."

Sam's gaze returned to the screen. "Kinsey sent an email to the assassin Sunday morning, demanding an explanation for why the hit man failed to kill both the president and the person he refers to as the second target. The hit man replied a while later with the explanation of how you saved the president." She returned her eyes to Daniel. "He then explained that his second shot did hit the intended target."

Daniel looked at her in surprise. "That bullet was meant for me, not the president?"

"Apparently so, but you can bet that the first bullet had the president's name on it," Jack responded.

"Kinsey sent a response, telling the hit man that you just had a minor wound," Sam said. "He was obviously ticked off and wanted to make sure the assassin knew that he screwed up twice. But the email service the hit man uses must have been down for several hours, and Kinsey was sent a failure notice."

"So, the assassin did not receive the final message from Vice President Kinsey?" Teal'c questioned.

"No, he would have gotten it eventually if the service was down for less than five days. Kinsey received a notice from the Mailer-Daemon that the email address had transient non-fatal errors, which can happen if the mail server you're sending to is temporarily down."

"Mailer demon, Carter?" Jack questioned, eyebrows rising.

"Mailer-Daemon, sir, D-A-E-M-O-N. It's a program in a mail server that delivers messages to recipients. This one tried for four hours to deliver the message before sending the notice to Kinsey and saying that it would keep trying to deliver the email. When the Mailer-Daemon sends such a notice, it includes a copy of the email it's been trying to deliver, which, in this case, luckily for us, had the quotes of the previous messages in it."

"That's why they killed him," Daniel murmured. Everyone turned to him inquiringly. "They didn't want me to be killed, and Kinsey went behind their backs and tried to get rid of me anyway. They must have found out."

Jack almost smiled at the irony. Kinsey had tried to have Daniel killed to protect himself, and his actions resulted in his own death.

"Well, we have the email address of the assassin, which is also a Webmail service, but it probably isn't going to do us much good," Sam told everyone. "I could get the guy's IP address and trace what Internet Service Provider he's using through it, but you can bet that all the info the ISP has is bogus."

"Right now, the assassin is the least of my concerns," Jack said. "He was just doing a job he was hired to do. We need to go after the guys who were in on the attempted assassination of the president."

Sam looked through Kinsey's mailbox. "Well, there are no other emails here. It looks like he cleaned out all the folders, including the Trash. So, we're not going to be able to get the email addresses of anyone else."

"What of the cellular telephone?" Teal'c asked. "Perhaps there is some record of calls Vice President Kinsey made."

Sam nodded. "You're right." She started checking the log of calls made, thankful that Kinsey hadn't deleted it. "There's one phone number here that Kinsey called quite a few times. I can find out who it belongs to." She got back on her laptop and soon had the name and address the number was registered to.

"How much you wanna bet that's fake, too?" Jack said.

Daniel was staring at the phone, a little frown on his face. "I wonder."

Jack looked at him. "What?"

"I was thinking that, if I called that number, maybe I could see the face of the person who answered."

"You've never tried anything like that before," Sam said.

"No, but I already know that I can see people and things that are far away. I saw you when you were stranded on the Prometheus."

"The problem is that, if we call that number, it might alert them to the fact that we're on their trail."

"So, we'll use a payphone and pretend we got a wrong number," Jack suggested. "It's worth a try." He turned to the president. "It's up to you, sir."

"I say go for it," Hayes responded.

"Okay, let's go to a phone outside the DC area, just in case these guys trace where the call came from."

SG-1 was taken to a payphone outside a restaurant in Maryland by the man who had picked them up at the airport. They decided that Sam should be the one to make the call since her voice would be the one they'd be least likely to recognize.

As Sam dialed the number, Daniel focused his abilities on seeing the person who answered the phone. He had his ear pressed against the receiver so that he could hear the person's voice.

The call was answered by a man after the third ring. "Hello?"

"Yeah, is Bert there?" Sam asked in a nasally voice.

"You have the wrong number."

"Oh, sorry. My apologies."

A click on the line told her that the man had hung up. She looked at Daniel, whose eyes were still closed. "Daniel?"

The archeologist's eyes opened. "I've got him."

"Yes!" Jack crowed. "Way to go, Daniel! Come on. Let's get back to the White House."

"Daniel did it, sir," Jack told the president in the Oval Office a while later.

"Excellent. Doctor Jackson, you are a wonder. So, what now?"

"Well, as far as we know, the NID has been clean for a while now, but there are still dozens of ex-agents who are unaccounted for," Sam replied. "We can do a search of the NID database of all former employees who left or disappeared within the last two years. Hopefully, this guy is one of them."

"And if he isn't?" Jack asked.

"Then we can check to see if he has a criminal or military record. If that fails, too, we may have a problem. There's the DMV, but that database is so huge, it would take a very long time to go through it, even using a program that would do the searching for us."

"Then let's hope we don't have to resort to that."

As it turned out, they didn't. Daniel identified the man as Frank March, who had worked for the NID until two months before Agent Barrett began his house cleaning operation there.

"He must have suspected what was going to happen and decided to get out before it did," Sam guessed.

"Okay, if we arrest this guy, he'll probably clam up and never give us the names of any of the people he's working with," Jack said, "so I say we put a tail on him and watch him for the next few days. Tap his phone, bug his house, the works."

"If we can find him," Sam remarked. "He might have gone underground like a lot of the people involved in the rogue operation did."

"Can you check on that?"

Sam got back on the computer and found out that March was living at the same address as when he worked for the NID.

"We need to get something that belongs to him, Jack," Daniel said. "I might be able to see something more."

"Right."

"The question is who can we trust to do this?" Sam wondered. "We really don't know who is involved in this. There could be people in the government, and there's no doubt that there are some in the military."

"There are some people in the intelligence community that I have absolute trust in," Hayes stated.

"People you'd be willing to reveal the Stargate Program to?" Jack questioned. "Whoever does this is liable to find out sooner or later, if they listen in on phone conversations."

"Yes, I would, though a couple of them are going to find it hard to believe."

"Then I guess we all have some work to do."

--------------------------------------------------

The next morning, after Frank March went to work, SG-1 did a little breaking and entering into his house. Actually, no "breaking" was involved. Daniel's teammates found out that he could unlock a deadbolt in three seconds flat--after he told them what the alarm code was.

Once they were inside and the alarm turned off, Jack, Sam and Teal'c got busy planting bugs all over the house and in the phones. Meanwhile, Daniel wandered around the place, touching things. He wasn't getting anything useful, that is until he touched a keycard he found in the desk drawer. He was instantly bombarded with images of people and places. He saw people in a lab manufacturing some kind of blue gas and putting it into clear canisters. He saw others with devices that were clearly of alien origin, and still others with what looked like rockets.

"Guys! I found something!" he called. His teammates came into the room. He held up the keycard. "I think I found the mother lode."

"What did you see?" Jack asked.

"A building with labs of some sort. They were making some kind of gas. It was fluorescent blue."

Sam frowned. "That sounds like it could be Methyl Phosphonofluoridic acid. It's a nerve gas, extremely deadly, kills in seconds."

"Oh, this does not sound good," Jack said. "Who would they be planning to use that gas on?"

"I don't know, but there was a whole lot of it," Daniel told him. "And I saw rockets, too."

"Rockets?" Sam's expression became extremely worried. "Sir, if they detonated rockets filled with that gas over a densely populated area, they could kill hundreds of thousands of people."

"Okay, this just got a whole hell of a lot more serious," Jack said. "Daniel, do you have any idea where this place is?"

The archeologist shook his head. "No."

Sam looked at the card. "There's no insignia or any other information that would tell us where this key is used."

"Then I guess we have no choice but to watch and listen in on this guy for a while and hope that he gives us a clue about where this place is."

"There is another option," Daniel said softly. His teammates turned to him. "I couldn't see where the place was by touching that keycard, but there's a good chance that I could get more from March himself."

"But to do that, we'd have to arrest him, which would reveal to the group that we're on their trail," Sam pointed out. "They might destroy everything and go into hiding."

Jack smiled faintly. "No, there is another way."

--------------------------------------------------

Frank March shut and locked the front door. It had been a long day. It had been necessary to remove all references to Kinsey's involvement in the organization just in case the investigators discovered the vice president's part in the assassination attempt on Hayes. There was now no evidence left that Kinsey was ever involved with them. March could only hope that Kinsey had been smart enough to cover his own tracks.

They didn't know yet what they were going to do to enable their plans to be carried out. With Kinsey dead, assassinating the president would be pointless. Some in the organization had argued against killing the vice president, but he had proven himself to be someone they couldn't trust. He'd deliberately tried to have Daniel Jackson killed even after being warned not to do so. That had shown that they couldn't count on Kinsey doing what they told him to, which could cause more trouble later on. He was a liability that needed to be eliminated.

So, with Kinsey gone, gaining control of the Stargate Program would be next to impossible. The only way left would be to kill Hammond and Colonel O'Neill, then somehow get somebody on their side in command of the SGC. The chances of that working, though, were very slim.

There was still the option of getting hold of Osiris' Al'Kesh. With it, they wouldn't need to have control of the SGC.

After dinner, March did some work on his computer, then decided to go to bed. Within fifteen minutes, he was asleep.

The man's sleep was interrupted rather suddenly two hours later. Strong hands were holding him down, a third slapping his cheek lightly. He looked up to see two familiar faces looking down at him in the darkness.

"Ah. Hello, there," Jack O'Neill said. "Sorry to disturb your beauty sleep." He turned to the man who was holding March down. "Get him up Teal'c."

March was pulled out of the bed and tied to a chair with padded strips of cloth that would leave no marks. He saw Major Carter standing in the corner of the room.

"You won't get anything out of me," March declared.

Jack smiled nastily. "Oh, won't we."

Just then, a fourth figure appeared. Daniel Jackson stepped forward, blue eyes piercing into March's.

"Hello," he said cordially.

_'Oh, shit,'_ March cursed silently. He began to struggle, though he knew it was pointless.

Ignoring his fruitless attempts to escape, Daniel came up to him and touched March's shoulder. The archeologist's eyes closed, and an expression that was somehow both peaceful and intense filled his face. March did not know what Jackson was doing, but he had no doubt that it would lead to SG-1 discovering the secrets of the organization. He also knew something else. Robert Kinsey had been right. They should have killed Doctor Jackson.

Daniel remained unmoving for two or three minutes. Then his eyes opened.

"Well?" Jack inquired.

"I know where it is," Daniel replied. He stared at March coldly. "And a whole lot more."

"You won't get all of us," March declared defiantly. "The moment they find out that I've been compromised, they'll destroy the records and go deep underground."

"Well, now, that might just be true," Jack said, "_if_ they knew you'd been compromised. But they're not gonna know that." He looked over his shoulder. "Carter?"

Sam stepped forward, and March saw that she had a hypodermic in her hand.

"What is that?" March asked, feeling a tiny frisson of fear.

"What _was_ that, you mean," Jack replied. March could now see that the syringe was empty. "You see, we've actually been here for a while. We sprayed you with a wee bit of knockout gas, just enough to keep you out for several minutes. Then we injected you with a nice little drug that will probably be making you pretty sleepy soon. Oh, it also has another effect. You won't remember any of this. All you'll remember is going to bed last night. Oh, and, in case you're wondering, the injection sight is in a place you'll never notice."

March was silent for the few minutes that it took for the drug to put him to sleep. He was untied from the chair and put back in the bed. SG-1 removed all traces of their presence in the house and left. Soon, they were on the road.

"So, what's next, sir?" Sam asked.

"Now, we make use of all the info Daniel got. We watch that facility he saw, and, if it looks like they're going to do something with that gas, we come down on them hard."

"They won't be doing anything with the gas yet, Jack," Daniel said. "They can't."

"What do you mean?"

"It isn't nerve gas. It's symbiote poison." The archeologist's eyes met Teal'c's. "They were planning on releasing it on Goa'uld controlled worlds and killing all the Jaffa."

The former First Prime's jaw tightened, a look of anger in his eyes.

"They must have figured that, if they wiped out the Jaffa, the Goa'uld would be powerless," Sam said, feeling a little sick at the thought of all the Jaffa who would have been murdered, including those in the rebellion.

"This must not be allowed to happen," Teal'c growled, looking like he was ready to rip someone's throat out.

"It won't, T," Jack assured him. "They'd have to have a way to deliver the poison to the planets, which is something they don't have. This explains why they want the Stargate so badly."

"It also explains the attempted theft of Osiris' Al'Kesh," Sam added. "With it, they could have flown to the various worlds, although that would have taken a while."

"I don't think that was their plan, Sam," Daniel said. "I couldn't tell what their exact plans were, but I got the impression that they somehow intended to take the gate."

"Well, whatever their plan was, it's not going to happen," Jack stated. "We've got what we need to stop them."

"I just hope we catch most of them," Sam said. "I have a feeling that this operation is a lot bigger than we thought it was."

"I think you're right, Sam," Daniel agreed. "There is something else I learned, something that explains what Kinsey said before he died. They call themselves The Trust."


	18. Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

It turned out that Daniel had gotten quite a bit of information from March, including the identities of several key figures in the organization called The Trust. In addition to the location of the facility he'd seen in his original vision, he'd also learned about a warehouse that The Trust had, plus a couple of smaller places that were primarily used for meeting places.

Over the next three days, the task force assigned to bring down The Trust stayed busy spying upon the members they now had names and addresses for, as well as the locations Daniel had discovered. Wiretaps were made and bugs planted. A spy satellite was placed in a stationary orbit over the main facility, and a van was parked on a low, nearby hill with equipment that was listening in on everything the people in the facility were saying. What they'd heard and recorded was quite interesting.

Sam managed to tap into the facility's Internet connection, which enabled them to read all the information that was being sent and received. Through that connection, she was also able to infiltrate several computers and get data off them.

The information that was gathered over the course of those three days was invaluable. They learned the names of a great many people in The Trust and got a clear picture of what the organization's plans were. They also got all the proof they needed that it was The Trust that ordered the hit on President Hayes and killed Kinsey.

It was the morning of the fourth day that the secret surveillance came to an unexpected end. SG-1 was in the van that was listening in on the main facility when a cell phone inside a room that had been identified as an office rang. It was answered by a man who responded to the caller with short, clipped questions and responses.

"That was Johnson," the man said, apparently to someone else in the room. "He's been compromised. He found a listening device in his house, and the phone has been bugged. We need to assume that the authorities either already know about this place or soon will."

Everyone in the van looked at each other.

"Crap," Jack cursed. "They're going to run. We need to move in on them now!"

Immediately, every member of the task force that was watching the various people and locations connected to The Trust were told to move in on their targets. As that was being done, SG-1 and a large force of men jumped into vehicles and raced down to the facility. They smashed through the security checkpoint and screeched to a stop outside the main entrance.

Before they even made it to the door, they were under fire. They took shelter behind their vehicles.

"Daniel! Can you do something about this?" Jack yelled.

The words were barely out of the colonel's mouth when there was a commotion inside the facility. The enemy fire instantly halted.

SG-1 and the task force rushed to the entrance, taking cover where they could. At the door, Jack peeked in and saw several men sprawled unconscious on the floor, looking like they'd been tossed up against the walls.

"Good job, Daniel," he said. He gave orders to the task force, telling them to separate into groups and sweep through the building.

"Jack, we need to go that way," Daniel said, pointing down one of the hallways.

Not questioning the archeologist's instincts, Jack and the rest of SG-1 went in that direction, Daniel in the lead to clear the way. As they headed down the hall, several people in the complex suddenly opened fire on them. Not a single bullet made it through. His mind focused absolutely upon defending his teammates and stopping the men who were attacking them, Daniel halted the bullets in midair, letting them fall to the floor. It didn't take long for the Trust members to realize what was happening and decide that escape might be the wiser course of action. They never got the chance. Fire roared up at the end of the hallway, blocking their escape route. Trapped between an impassible wall of fire and the man who created it, most of the men and women chose to surrender. Those few who didn't were brought down by SG-1's weapons.

The captured personnel were all put in a room with no exit, and Daniel melted the lock of the door so that they couldn't get out. He and his teammates then continued forward, stopping at every room Daniel sensed had someone inside. With many of the rooms, the archeologist merely repeated the process of melting the lock. For those that had another way out, a zat gun took care of the inhabitants.

At last they reached the room that was Daniel's goal. It was the main lab, and he knew without doubt that five of the most important people in The Trust were there.

Warning his teammates to take cover, Daniel focused his mind upon the locked steel door baring entrance to the room. With a groan of tortured metal, the door buckled and caved inward, ripping from its hinges. As it fell to the floor, the people inside opened up with their weapons. Taking shelter to the right of the door, Daniel psychically looked into the room.

"How many?" Jack asked.

"Twenty-three," Daniel replied.

"Can you handle them all?"

"Yes, but I don't want to toss them about like I did the guys in the lobby. A lot of things could get broken."

"You mean like bones?"

Daniel stared at him. "That wasn't really what I was talking about, but, yeah, that, too." He took a "peek" inside the room again. "How about if I disarm them, and you guys zat them?"

"Works for me."

Daniel's eyes slid shut. Moments later, guns began jerking out of the grasp of the people inside and hurling across the room. Before they could retrieve their weapons, SG-1 came rushing inside, zat guns firing. Eleven people were brought down by the weapons. The remainder held up their hands in surrender.

"Watch them, Daniel," Jack said as he, Sam and Teal'c came forward to bind the prisoners.

Suddenly, one of the men who had been zatted pulled a gun from beneath his pants leg and aimed it at Jack's unprotected back. In the next instant, he cried out in pain and clutched at his hand, the gun falling from his grasp. Jack walked up to him and kicked the gun away, looking at the man's hand, which was now sporting a nasty second degree burn.

The colonel tsked at the man, shaking his head. "You really should have known better than that, you know." He looked at Daniel over his shoulder. "Glad to see you remembered what I said about not melting loaded guns. Melting the hand holding the gun is a lot safer." He turned back to the man. "You're lucky he only blistered you a bit. I've seen what he can do to someone when he's _really_ serious, and it's not pretty," he turned to look at all the other prisoners, "which is something the rest of you might want to keep in mind."

Not surprisingly, no one else tried anything. The hands of the prisoners were bound behind their backs, and they were made to sit on the floor.

"Okay, all the head honchos please raise your hand," Jack said once everyone had regained consciousness. "Oh, that's right. You can't. Okay, just say 'I'." He wasn't surprised that no one said a word. "Cat got your tongue?" The colonel turned to Daniel. "I guess it's up to you."

The archeologist approached the group of men and women. It didn't take him long to find the ones he was seeking. The four men and one woman were separated from the rest.

Just then, a member of the task force came in to say that the facility was secure. Virtually everyone had been captured or killed. More forces were on the way to round up the prisoners and help go through the building.

Leaving the people they captured in the care of two members of the task force, SG-1 went outside to await the arrival of the others.

"We did good," Jack said to his team.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed. He was satisfied with how things had turned out, knowing that many of the people who intended to slaughter the Jaffa had been captured.

The colonel looked at Daniel. "The way you stopped those bullets was sweet. How come you didn't do that at Camp David? It would have saved you from getting shot."

"The assassination attempt happened too quickly for me to think of doing anything except push the president out of the way. Besides, I didn't know I could do that. It wasn't until later that I remembered something."

"What?" Sam asked.

"When you guys were taken prisoner by Nirrti, Jack tried to shoot her, but Woden stopped the bullet. I figured that, if _he_ could do it. . . ."

"You could do it." Jack concluded. He smiled. "So, it turns out that you don't have to be the Man of Steel after all. It doesn't matter that the bullets won't bounce if they never hit you in the first place."

"True." Daniel paused. "But it would still be cool to be able to fly."

Jack patted his shoulder. "Give it time."

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Within the next few hours, reports from the various teams came in. The operation had been a success. Only a handful of people were known to have escaped, and all the buildings had been seized. The Trust had been brought to its knees, though everyone knew it was likely that some people involved would never be found.

The next day was a long and busy one for Daniel. Figuring that he might be able to get more information, he turned his abilities upon quite a few people who were captured, just as he had done with Frank March. He found out the identities of still more members of The Trust, plus several people who had ties to them. Among those named were some high-ranking people in the military and government, who were all arrested.

It was from one of the leaders that Daniel learned what The Trust's plans had been regarding Osiris' Al'Kesh. They had intended to steal Earth's Stargate with it and use the gate to send rockets full of symbiote poison to Goa'uld controlled worlds that had a large number of Jaffa on them. He also found out what had been done with the stolen sarcophagus. Their scientists had taken it apart and were studying it in an effort to come up with a technology that could heal without the addictive effects that repeated use of the sarcophagus caused.

SG-1 learned something else that day, something that surprised all of them. The assassin was dead, killed in, of all things, a car accident. The first clue the local police had that something was fishy about the passenger of the taxi that got hit by a dump trump was when they found out that his ID had a bogus name and address. Then, upon examining the body, the medical examiner discovered that the man was wearing a fake beard and mustache, blue contact lenses and latex to change the appearance of his nose. This had sent all kinds of red flags waving. A DNA sample was taken, and it was found to match one of the samples gathered in the motel room the assassin had stayed in when he attempted to kill the president. Though the damage to the man's face made it impossible to ID him that way, this was enough to tell them who he was.

The man's fingerprints identified him as John Benedict. As Jack had suspected, he'd been in the military years ago. Interestingly, the man's photograph did not match the drawing made from Daniel's description. Everyone figured that he must have had plastic surgery sometime after leaving the military. The FBI was now in the process of linking Benedict with several other assassinations that had been committed in the U.S. over the past twelve years, and possibly some in other countries.

After learning all of this, Jack shook his head. "I find it almost funny that, after a dozen years of being an international assassin and all the ways that he could have been killed doing his job, he buys the farm in something as ordinary as a car accident. It just goes to show that the universe definitely has a well-developed sense of irony."

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By the time SG-1 returned to the SGC Tuesday night and gave the general a preliminary debriefing, they were all exhausted from long hours and little sleep, especially Daniel, who spent countless hours getting information from the people who were captured. He was ready to crawl into a nice warm bed and sleep for ten hours straight. Unfortunately, Janet had other ideas. Too tired to argue with her, the archeologist submitted to her tests, only barely managing to stay awake during them.

As it turned out, Daniel was granted his wish of a nice warm bed after all when he fell asleep on one of the beds in the infirmary while awaiting the results of Janet's tests. Smiling down at him, Sam carefully removed his shoes and covered him with a blanket. The doctor came up to her.

"Ah, I see that Sleeping Beauty finally succumbed," Janet said.

"Yeah. He was beat. Actually, so am I. It's been a very long week."

"You should go home, Sam, get some sleep. Daniel's fine. The tests all came out normal."

"I think I'll do that. Oh, by the way, I'll be going to the Academy hospital tomorrow. I found out just before Kinsey was assassinated that a friend was among the pilots injured during the battle with Anubis. He was one of the 302 pilots. Actually, we owe him our lives. He shot down an Al'Kesh that was heading straight for us. I've known Cam for several years, though we haven't stayed in touch as much as I'd like. He was hurt pretty badly. For quite a while, the doctors didn't think he'd make it, and they're giving low odds that he'll ever walk on his own again."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Sam."

"I just wish I'd known sooner. I would have gone to see him before now. Daniel might go with me. He wants to thank Cam for what he did, and the colonel said something about going to visit him, too." Sam looked at her watch. "Well, I'd better get home. Good night."

The doctor wished the major a good night, then returned to her duties. It was about two hours later that a sharp gasp from Daniel's bed made her look in that direction. The archeologist was sitting up, a look of fear on his face. Janet quickly went to him.

"Daniel? Are you all right?"

Daniel took a deep breath. "Yes, I, uh, had a nightmare."

The doctor looked at him more closely. "Just a nightmare or something more?" The expression he gave her answered the question. "Want to tell me about it?"

The archeologist shook his head. "I didn't see enough to be able to tell you anything."

"But you saw enough to worry you."

"Yeah." He pushed the covers back. "I'm guessing that my tests all came out okay, so I'm going to head home."

"It's pretty late, Daniel. Perhaps you should just go to one of the VIP rooms."

"Maybe you're right. I'll be having to come back here in a few hours to get busy on my report anyway."

Daniel went to a VIP room, his mind on what was in the dream he'd had. Someday in the future, something was going to happen that would separate Sam from the rest of them. He didn't know what it was, but it scared him.

Lying down in the bed, Daniel hoped that, whatever the future was going to bring, he'd be able to keep his friends safe.

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Oma wandered through the abandoned temple, the place that had been her home for so many centuries. Weeds now choked the garden, and several climbing plants were festooning the walls of the courtyard. Inside, things did not look all that different, with the exception of the dust on the floor and the lack of fire in the torches. The latter she fixed with a brief thought.

In the newly created light, Oma gazed at the place where she first laid eyes upon Daniel Jackson over four years ago. Much had changed since then, especially for Daniel. What had happened to him and what Oma sensed was yet to happen were things that she could not have foreseen on that day she began guiding him on the path to enlightenment.

Oma sensed the approach of one of the Others and turned to see Shifu coming toward her. The boy, in human form like she was, greeted her.

"I had hoped to find you in this place," he said. "I sensed that you would be here."

"I have not been here since that day Daniel came in search of you."

"You are here because of him," Shifu guessed.

"Yes."

"He has grown very strong. The Others speak of him often."

"I know. Some feel that he is too powerful," Oma said.

"Yet they cannot deny the wisdom he has shown in using the power. He surprises them."

Oma smiled at the comment, knowing that it was true. Some of their fellow Ascended, upon realizing what was happening with Daniel, believed that he would let the power go to his head. She had insisted that wouldn't happen and told them that he would teach them many things, about both humans and the Ascended. And, indeed, he had, though it was a lesson some did not want to learn.

"The path that yet lies ahead of him will not be an easy one," Shifu stated.

"The paths of greatest importance are never easy to travel."

"This is true. Yet I sense that there are obstacles to come that may cause him to fall."

Oma smiled at Shifu. "Daniel has fallen many times in the course of his life, yet he always regains his feet and keeps walking forward, no matter how difficult or how painful."

"Some would say that he ceased to walk forward when he chose to forsake ascension and return to human form."

"Yes, some would, but they are ones who do not understand that, for one such as Daniel, leaving ascension behind and becoming human again was the only way that he could continue forward on his true path. His place was not among us, not then. It is only as a human that he has been able to become what he is now, and it is in the body of a mortal human that he will find the truth about himself, a truth that he already knows, yet cannot see."

"And if he never sees it?" Shifu questioned.

"I cannot teach him what he already knows, but the light of a small candle can sometimes be enough to see the universe."

"And you will light the candle?"

Oma did not reply for a moment. "If, in lighting it, I do not destroy what I seek to bring into sight."

The woman and boy went back outside. The sun had disappeared behind dark clouds, and there was the sound of distant thunder. To the two Ascended Beings, the approaching storm was like a harbinger of things soon to come, and neither of them knew if what lay on the horizon would ultimately bring back the sun or plunge them all into darkness.

To be concluded.

* * *

Well, that's it for Part 6 of this series. There's just one more story to go, What You Already Know: Resolutions, which covers most of Season 8.


End file.
